49ers 90-in-90: “Good as Gould” should be back to full strength in 2020.

The status of San Francisco 49ers kicker Robbie Gould was a sticky situation all of the last offseason. Gould finished his second season with the Niners nearly flawless as he made 33 of his 34 field goal attempts. Gould earned special teams player of the week awards twice. Gould’s story was whether or not he would join the rest of his teammates for training camp. His contract situation went into July, before ultimately signing a four-year, $19 million contract with $10.5 million guaranteed.

Gould started 2019 by missing seven kicks in the first six games. Because the 49ers had gotten out to such a hot start, none of those kicks cost the team. It was evident something was off with Robbie. Did missing long snapper Kyle Nelson really make that much of a difference? We’d later find out Gould had a groin injury that would cause him to miss three games. Including the playoffs, Gould didn’t miss a kick in the next eight games once he returned from injury.

Basic info

Age: 37

Experience: 15 accrued seasons

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 190 pounds

Cap Status

The 49ers reached an agreement on a four year, $19 million contract with Robbie Gould on July 14, 2019. Gould received $10.5 million guaranteed at signing, including a $3 million signing bonus. The final two years of the contract are option years. The 49ers have to pick up the option on the contract until the final week of the 2020 season. If exercised, $2.25 million of Gould’s 2021 salary will be guaranteed, and another $2.25 million in 2022 salary will vest on April 1 of that year.

If the 49ers do not exercise Gould’s option, they’ll save $4.5 million in cap space with only $750,000 in dead money. Gould’s cap number will be $5.1 million in 2020.

Why he might regress in 2020

It’s not technically a contract year, but if Gould struggles, don’t be surprised if the 49ers cut ties with Gould and save $4.5 million. Gould turns 38-years-old next December. The older he gets, the higher the chance Gould could suffer an injury or the harder it may become to play through a nagging injury that wasn’t previously an issue. Aside from age, it’s tough to imagine Gould being worse than the first half of 2019, which was easily the worst stretch of his career.

What to expect in 2020

This offseason will be unique for all athletes, but Gould won’t have the contract situation from 2019 over his head. Nelson will also be snapping, and Gould won’t have to worry about a quad injury. When all of that happened during the second half of the season, Gould made 17 of his 18 field goal attempts. His lone miss was from 51-yards at the end of the half during a downpour in Baltimore.

Gould gives you a peace of mind that didn’t exist with Chase McLaughlin on the roster. The playoffs essentially started for the 49ers in Week 16, and Gould hit all 11 of his field-goal attempts from Week 16 through the Super Bowl. “Good as Gould” should be back in 2020.