Robbi Gould will go down as one of the most reliable kickers in NFL history. But that doesn't mean he has to like how his career came to an end.
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In fact, he doesn't seem to like how it ended at all.
Instead, Gould said he has a "fractured" relationship with the San Francisco 49ers' front office after the team let him go after the 2022 season. He hasn't played in the NFL since. But he suggested he still roots for the franchise.
"Could I have gone back to San Francisco? Probably not," Gould told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area at the 2024 American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. "I think the relationship there from the executives to me was definitely fractured. Not in a poor way. I just think negotiations and how those things operated, they take a toll on your relationships.
"I'll be forever thankful for what they did for my family, very thankful for the York family for what they did for six years, giving me an opportunity to have success and play in NFC Championships and Super Bowls."
Wrote Maiocco:
"Gould spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Chicago Bears and one season with the New York Giants before joining the 49ers in 2017. The now-41-year-old made 161 of his 184 regular-season field-goal attempts and 221 of 230 extra-point attempts while with the 49ers. In nine 49ers playoff games, Gould was a perfect 21-of-21 on field-goal attempts and 19-of-19 on extra-point attempts."
The Niners drafted Jake Moody in 2022, which is likely what doomed Gould's stay there. Given that Gould was given no other opportunities, he has since officially retired. He added that he thinks Moody will be even better this next season than he was last.
