Would Chicago Bears entertain a trade for Robbie Gould?
It’s no secret that the Chicago Bears need help at kicker. Since releasing Robbie Gould three years ago, Ryan Pace hasn’t gotten the kicking position right.
Last season, Pace threw some money at Cody Parkey and thought Parkey could fix their kicking woes, but all he did was miss in higher profile moments. Now the Bears have to eat $3.5 million in guaranteed money that will be headed to Parkey to kick elsewhere.
The dust has started settling on veteran kickers and there isn’t too much available. Robbie Gould has been franchised. Stephen Gostkowski appears headed back to New England. Will Lutz is a restricted free agent. Matt Bryant is in his mid 40s and has spent the last several seasons kicking largely indoors.
The Bears may look at this collection of young kickers and see if they can spend a seventh round pick or perhaps a UDFA slot to bring in a young kicker to stabilize that situation. But going young at kicker, while it could work, certainly leaves a lot of uncertainty.
If there was a quality veteran kicker they could sign, it makes sense for a team that is vying for a Super Bowl. But being the free agent kickers aren’t great, perhaps a trade might better suit them.
The question becomes just how much the Bears would be willing to spend on a kicker. With $3.5 million already headed to Parkey, if the Bears bring in another kicker the total will start soaring towards $8 or $9 million on the kicking position this year. That’s a tough spot for the Bears to be in financially.
But, if they decide to put nothing to risk, perhaps they should contact John Lynch in San Francisco and ask if they would trade Robbie Gould. In theory, the Bears could offer Gould (who has the non-exclusive franchise tag) a contract and the 49ers would decline matching it so they could land 2-first round picks for Gould. That compensation is exactly why the Bears won’t do that.
However, if the Bears and 49ers work out a trade, they can settle on compensation themselves.
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The Bears have two seventh round picks and you would have to think Chicago wouldn’t hesitate to move a seventh rounder for Gould. However, is it worth it for the 49ers to trade Gould for a seventh rounder? Odds are that pick won’t pan out. A sixth rounder would probably be considered but the Bears don’t have one.
The Bears do have a fifth round pick. That’s probably something the 49ers wouldn’t hesitate to do. But would the Bears pay that kind of Price for Gould? The franchise tag value for Gould is roughly $5 million, plus the $3.5 million to Parkey plus a fifth round pick? That is a serious commitment to the kicking position but if the Bears trade for Gould, they could work out a contract that lessens his cap hit in 2019.
Gould doesn’t have much interest in staying in San Francisco. His family still lives in Chicago and he lives in a hotel in San Francisco during the football season. A return to Chicago is a perfect fit for Gould, but the franchise tag is preventing that from happening.
If the Bears want a sure thing, they’ll have to pay a pretty penny. Odds are, for a kicker, Ryan Pace won’t be willing to do that and if that’s the case, the Bears will most likely have an open competition for two or three young kickers and go from there.
But if the Bears want a sure thing, give John Lynch a call. A fifth round pick would be too much for the 49ers GM to pass up for a kicker, albeit a very good one in Gould. It probably won’t happen, but Ryan Pace should at least pick up the phone and see if him and Lynch can make something happen. It would be a trade that would truly be a win-win for both sides.