Why is former 49ers kicker Robbie Gould being so confusing?

Not long into the offseason, Robbie Gould reportedly said he wouldn't be returning to the 49ers. Now, apparently, he's saying he wanted to return but was never made an offer.

Perhaps this is a lesson in honesty and why it's such a rare thing in professional sports. Or, just as likely, it's a lesson in how things can be misconstrued and misunderstood if they're not direct and concise.

Or, maybe, we're just left confused.

If you're confused, join the club. Because, last March, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that veteran kicker Robbie Gould, who had been part of the San Francisco 49ers from 2017 through 2022, would "be kicking elsewhere in 2023."

Kind of odd there wasn't a quote associated with Schefter's tweet, but perhaps he didn't feel one was necessary. From the initial takeaway, it appeared as if Gould had little-to-no desire to return to the Niners. Not long afterward, NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco confirmed what Schefter reported about Gould not planning on returning.

And that would have been corroborated by previous conflicts with San Francisco, which included a trade request back in 2019.

Gould and the 49ers settled that with a four-year extension, which followed an awkward use of a franchise tag on a kicker. But at no point did it wholly seem as if Gould was satisfied with playing in the Bay Area.

At any rate, following the 2022 season, Gould hit NFL free agency while the Niners responded with two kicking moves, trading with the Carolina Panthers for Zane Gonzalez and then using a Round 3 NFL Draft pick on Michigan's Jake Moody.

If there were any questions about Gould returning to San Francisco, they stopped immediately after the Moody selection.

Robbie Gould changes his narrative, says he 'would’ve loved to have gone back' to 49ers

Gould was out in Lake Tahoe last week for the American Century Championship, and Maiocco caught up with the 40-year-old free-agent kicker again.

Instead of reinforcing the previous statement about having no plans to return to the 49ers, it seems as if Gould wanted to all along.

Rather the Niners simply didn't oblige and never made contact with Gould's camp.

“I would’ve loved to have gone back there,” Gould told Maiocco. “I told them I wanted to go back there. We never got an offer from the team and we never had a conversation about coming back.”

Now, that might be seen as confusing when looking back at what Schefter originally said. When prompted about it, Gould had a reasonable answer.

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“We put out the tweet that we were going to go in a different direction once we found that out," Gould explained. "It was a great run, and it was a lot of fun. I wish all my teammates nothing but the best.”

Schefter's tweet was on March 4. NFL free agency didn't start until March 13. While understandable, it doesn't totally add up 100 percent. Both sides still had plenty of time to engage in conversations about a reunion.

Either way, Gould is still seeking his next employer, while San Francisco looks content to move forward with Moody.

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