Monday’s deadline for franchise-tagged placekicker Robbie Gould to sign a new contract with the San Francisco 49ers appears unlikely to produce a deal.
Gould remains uncertain if he’ll report to the team for training camp or even the regular season, let alone come to terms on a long-term agreement by Monday.
“I’m not going to commit to making any decision right now,” Gould told the San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday. “I don’t really have a plan right now. 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 still lives in Chicago, and the Bears are stuck in the process of finding a reliable kicker, a tailspin that began late last season and continued into the last-second playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
But Gould, who broke into the league with the Bears, said Wednesday he “never said I want to go back there.” Gould did say he wants to play closer to home.
The 37-year-old is one of three players who face the Monday deadline for franchise designated players to agree to a long-term deal.
Jadeveon Clowney and the Houston Texans are reportedly not close to an agreement, and the Atlanta Falcons and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett might not be able to work out a suitable agreement because of Atlanta’s restrictive salary cap situation.
