Robbie Gould will be kicking somewhere else when the 2023 season begins. The veteran kicker said Saturday he will test free agency later this month and will not be kicking for the San Francisco 49ers next year, per Adam Schefter.
Gould's upcoming departure snaps a six-season stint with the 49ers, which has included multiple deep playoff runs, headlined by an appearance in Super Bowl LIV. During his time with the Niners, the 40-year-old netted 87.5% of his field goal attempts and 96.1% of his extra points. He was a second-team All-Pro during his first season in San Francisco in 2017 and was still kicking at a high level in 2022. He hit 84.4% of his field goals during the regular season and was a perfect 8 for 8 during this past postseason.
The playoffs are where Gould arguably shined the brightest during his tenure with the 49ers. In nine career playoff games with the team, he never missed a kick, converting all 21 of his field goals (including four from 50-plus yards) and each of his 19 extra point attempts. In the divisional round during the 2021 playoffs, Gould kicked a game-winning 45-yard field goal to send San Francisco to the NFC Championship, upsetting the top-seeded Green Bay Packers.
Gould initially entered the NFL back in 2005 as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State. He had very brief stints as a rookie with both the Patriots and Ravens before truly finding his footing with the Chicago Bears, a team he would spend a decade playing for. Gould is currently Chicago's all-time scoring leader and was named one of the 100 greatest Bears of all time.
He was released by the Bears in early September of 2016 and eventually latched on with the New York Giants for that season before finding his way to San Francisco.
