When the 49ers convene for training camp later this month, kicker Robbie Gould might not be on hand, as Cam Inman of the Mercury News writes. Gould continues to push for a trade and offered no assurance that he’ll join his teammates if he doesn’t get his way in the next couple of weeks.
“I’m not going to commit to making any decision right now,” said Gould while at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada.
The Gould/Niners saga has been going on for some time. For a while, the kicker pushed for a return to the Bears. The 49ers, however, did not blink, and subsequently hit him with the $5MM franchise tender. Gould continues to say that he will not sign the tender with the implication being that he will not be a happy camper in SF unless he is given a lucrative multi-year deal.
“I don’t really have a plan right now,” Gould said. “Obvious there is a deadline and I don’t have to make any decisions anytime soon. … The deadline to sign a long-term contract is Monday, and the rest of that (potential holdout) is up to me.”
Gould’s other options consist of skipping training camp, waiting until Week 1 to start his $5MM deal, waiting as late as Week 10 to earn a prorated salary, or sitting out the entire season, a la Le’Veon Bell.
Publicly, the Niners continue to say that they are focused on hammering out a long-term deal for Gould.