A golden career for former 49ers kicker Robbie Gould
By Scott Conrad
Robbie Gould finally decided to call it a career after a storybook tenure with both the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers.
On his 41st birthday, veteran kicker Robbie Gould hung up his cleats, telling the world that he was doing so in an announcement via The Player's Tribune. The Lock Haven, Pennsylvania native officially brought a close to his legendary 18-year career in the NFL.
Despite not being selected in the 2005 NFL Draft, Gould spent time with both the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. After being cut and waived by those teams, respectively, he anticipated his professional football career was over before it began.
The Chicago Bears gave Gould the No. 9 jersey in 2005, though, and the rest is history. He kicked 21-of-27 on field goals and only missed one of his 20 extra-point attempts that season.
He would go the next seven seasons perfect when kicking the ball through the uprights after every Bears touchdown. In his fifth season, Gould made his first of many field goal attempts from 50-plus yards out.
Gould would spend 11 seasons with Chicago before heading to the New York Giants for the 2016 season. After the one-year stint out east, Gould would trade coasts and finish his career with the San Francisco 49ers from 2017 through 2022.
With career averages of 86.5 percent for field goals and almost 97.5 percent for extra points, Gould is a future Hall of Famer. He has only missed two attempts inside the 30-yard line during the regular season (one in his first and last season with the Niners).
Gould is the 10th all-time points leaders for kickers. He was perfect in the playoffs regardless of what team he represented as he put up 126 career playoff points, going perfect from all 29 postseason field goals including the four from 50-plus yards out.
Gould also never recorded a miss in the 39 extra-point attempts.
The 49ers were able to make the playoffs three out of the last four years huge in part because of Gould's accuracy and consistency on special teams.
He now can get his kicks out of watching San Francisco hopefully return to the Super Bowl this year.