Robbie Gould is 'nowhere near retiring' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Former Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould is still chasing after that elusive Super Bowl championship after the San Francisco 49ers' disappointing end to the 2022 NFL season.
49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy was injured early in the game and the Philadelphia Eagles went on to win the NFC Championship and a Super Bowl berth in a decisive victory.
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And Gould isn't ready to call it a career just yet.
"I’m nowhere near retiring," Gould told NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco.
Gould is a free agent this offseason but for those dreaming of a Bears reunion, it might not be in the cards even with how much Gould loves Chicago.
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"I got a lot left to do from a career perspective--No. 1 being winning a Super Bowl," Gould said. "And, two, I’m pretty close to a lot of milestones I think would be pretty neat to be able to accomplish."
A Super Bowl is still a couple years off for Chicago in even the most optimistic timelines.
Gould continued his perfect postseason record this year, in field goals and extra point attempts. In the NFC Championship game, Gould nailed his lone extra point attempt
In the Divisional Round of the 2023 NFL playoffs, Gould buried four field goals for the San Francisco 49ers as they punched their ticket to the 2023 NFC Championship Game.
It followed another 4-for-4 performance in the Wild Card round against the Seattle Seahawks.
In fact, since the Bears cut Robbie Gould right before the 2016 season, he hasn't missed a field goal in the NFL playoffs.
To be fair, he didn't miss a playoff field goal or extra point during his tenure with the Bears either. He was 6-for-6 in the 2006 playoff run, but didn't kick a field goal in playoff games in 2005 and 2010.
All in all, Gould has made 39-of-39 extra points and 29-of-29 field goals in postseason play.
What could have been if the Bears never cut him to save money?
Would the Bears have made a run in 2018 if Gould was kicking instead of Cody Parkey? We'll never know.
And the Bears have had a revolving door of kickers, until settling with Cairo Santos in recent seasons. In no order, the Bears tried Elliot Fry, Eddie Piniero, Connor Barth, Mike Nugent. Fortunately Santos has kicked brilliantly for the team. But, it was a long, windy and perhaps unnecessary road to get where the Bears are today.
Gould wanted to be a lifetime Chicago Bear too, which makes it sting all the more.
Yet, we can't forget Gould, who said he wanted to be a lifetime Bear.
"I wanted to finish my career here," Gould told Waddle and Silvy show. "I would have loved to have been a Bear like Jason Hanson for 20 years. That would have been amazing to me. Those are things you can't control as a player."
On the show, Gould explained the way in which he got cut, late at night with no one around. But, Gould remains optimistic about his release and how the back half of his career has unfolded.
"I have no hard feelings towards anybody," Gould said.
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