49ers’ Robbie Gould To Skip Minicamp
49ers’ kicker Robbie Gould will not attend the team’s mandatory minicamp, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Gould’s situation is different than most, however, as he has not yet signed his franchise tag. 
The saga between the Niners and their kicker has been going on for some time. Gould was slapped with the franchise tag earlier this offseason with the understanding that the two sides would eventually agree to an extension. However, a new deal still hasn’t materialized, much to the dismay of the kicker.
“The bottom line is, I’m unsure if I want to play there anymore,” Gould said earlier this year. “At this point, I have to do what’s best for me and my family back home.”
Later, Gould’s agent indicated that if Gould were to report at all, he would not show up before the club’s season opener. GM John Lynch has said that he wants to sign Gould to a multiyear deal, but there apparently has been much progress on that front.
At one point, the Niners expressed interest in Stephen Gostkowski before he re-signed with the Patriots, so they’ve at least contemplated a future without Gould. They may have to scour the open market again if the standoff continues.
This Date In Transactions History: Issac Bruce
On this date in 2010, the 49ers shipped Issac Bruce to the Rams. However, this wasn’t an ordinary trade. The deal was facilitated in order to allow Bruce, 37 at the time, to retire with his original franchise. 
Bruce started his career with the Rams in 1994, the team’s final season in Los Angeles. The second-round pick played sparingly as a rookie, but he broke out as an NFL sophomore in St. Louis with 119 catches, 1,781 yards, and 13 touchdowns, all of which went down as his career bests. In his 14 illustrious years with the Rams, Bruce amassed four Pro Bowl trips and eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in eight different seasons.
“Sixteen years was enough for me,” Bruce said at his farewell press conference. “I think a lot was done. But that second training camp practice (in two-a-days) may have played a part in it. I was ready to move on and do something else other than playing football.”
After so many productive seasons in the NFL, Bruce had little left to prove. Bruce was the leading wide receiver in the Rams’ “Greatest Show On Turf” Super Bowl-winning season and left the team as its all-time receiving leader with 14,109 yards. His second act with the Niners was not quite as flashy with 835 yards in his first SF season and 264 yards in his 2009 finale.
“The two years I was away, I kept tabs on this organization,” Bruce said. “I played against this organization, I played against its players. The funny thing is I found myself encouraging them when things didn’t look bright for them. I looked down and saw myself in a different colored uniform. It was honestly just to me personally — it just wasn’t right.”
So, with the trade, Bruce returned back to the Rams and became the last member of the Rams’ first Los Angeles run to hang ’em up. Later, his No. 80 jersey was retired by the team.
Bruce was denied entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the third time in 2019, but he remains a candidate for induction down the road.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On 49ers' Decision To Extend Staley
Both the 49ers and Joe Staley realized this offseason they wanted to pursue an extension. The 49ers did so after watching the left tackle’s 2018 film, while Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes Staley — once on the fence about playing into another decade — also decided he wanted to keep going.
Talks accelerated last week, Maiocco adds, and although Staley’s two-year extension was announced Wednesday night, the 34-year-old lineman agreed to a new deal on Monday. So any Mike McGlinchey-to-left tackle plans will be tabled for the foreseeable future.
- No word has emerged from Los Angeles about the Rams working on a Jared Goff extension, and Albert Breer of SI.com expects the team to wait a year. The Rams are interested in extending Goff, however, and it would behoove them to do an extension before a near-$23MM fifth-year option kicks in next season. It would also cost the Rams upwards of $30MM in 2021 to tag their two-time Pro Bowl quarterback. While the Rams do have big expenses on this year’s payroll — with Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters and Dante Fowler in contract years — the quarterback landscape will look different a year from now. Carson Wentz and the Eagles are moving toward a deal, and Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes may well be attached to long-term contracts by this time next year. Assuming he does not regress after making significant strides in 2018, Goff’s price figures to go up.
49ers, Joe Staley Agree To Extension
Joe Staley is no longer in a contract year. The longtime 49ers left tackle agreed to a two-year extension to stay with the team through 2021, the 49ers announced Wednesday night.
Back in April, the six-time Pro Bowler had not yet decided about playing beyond the 2019 season. Evidently, he now has. This new deal will tether Staley to the 49ers through his age-37 season. At the 49ers’ state of the franchise event, Staley indicated a desire to play for only one NFL team (video link via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area).
Staley’s two-year extension includes $27.6MM in new money, a source tells ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). With the add-on, the veteran can now make $36.15MM total over the next three years.
The 34-year-old lineman has started all 174 regular-season games he’s played since being a 2007 first-round pick. He sits 13th on the 49ers’ all-time games-played list and is on the cusp of climbing into the top 10. Staley playing out this extension would give him a chance to trail only Jerry Rice on this list. Among non-quarterbacks currently on NFL rosters, only Larry Fitzgerald has started more games (232) for the team that drafted him than Staley.
Despite being in his 12th season in 2018, Staley graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 6 overall tackle. And that lofty grade represented a slight dip from his performances for most of this decade. The 49ers are clearly comfortable beginning their full-fledged Jimmy Garoppolo era with their longest-tenured player serving as his top protector.
The 49ers now have Staley, right tackle Mike McGlinchey, guards Laken Tomlinson and Mike Person, and center Weston Richburg signed through at least 2021. Staley was set to count $10.95MM against the 49ers’ cap this season; that number can be expected to go down due to this extension.
NaVorro Bowman To Retire
Longtime NFL linebacker NaVorro Bowman will retire as a member of the 49ers, San Francisco announced today. Bowman spent seven-plus seasons with the 49ers, but didn’t play in the NFL last year.
Bowman, now 31 years old, was a third-round selection in the 2010 draft. After serving primarily as a special-teamer during his rookie campaign, Bowman became a starter in 2011 and didn’t look back. Pairing with Patrick Willis to create the league’s best linebacker tandem, Bowman earned first-team All-Pro honors 2011-13, posting at least 140 combined tackles in each season.
Unfortunately, in what likely became the defining moment of his career, Bowman suffered a brutal knee injury in the 2013 NFC Championship Game, tearing both his ACL and MCL in the process. The Penn State product missed the entirety of the 2014 season, and while he returned in 2015 and was again named first-team All-Pro, he never quite regained his pre-injury form.
A torn Achilles tendon prematurely ended Bowman’s 2016 season, and spelled the near end of his 49ers career. Five games into the 2017 campaign, San Francisco released Bowman after he voiced displeasure at a nearly-completed trade to the Saints. Bowman latched on with the Raiders, and put up 89 tackles over the final 10 games of the year.
Bowman was expected to draw interest during the 2018 offseason, and PFR had him ranked as the second-best off-ball linebacker on the market. The Packers reportedly considered adding Bowman following an injury to their linebacker corps, and he scheduled a workout with the Browns in October 2018, but no deal was ever reached.
Bowman will end his career with more than $44MM in earnings. PFR wishes him well as he enters retirement.
Jimmie Ward Injury Induces Position Switch
- After converting college safety Tarvarius Moore to cornerback his rookie year, the 49ers recently moved him back. Jimmie Ward‘s broken collarbone prompted this change, with The Athletic’s Matt Barrows noting (subscription required) Moore was stationed at corner as recently as last week. DC Robert Saleh praised Moore’s versatility. Fellow 2018 safety draftee D.J. Reed is also recovering from offseason surgery, so Moore’s latest position switch might not be permanent.
- Given a starting role by two teams thus far in his career, Carlos Hyde is again set to work as a backup. The Chiefs plan to use Damien Williams as their starter over the former 49ers and Browns first-stringer, OC Eric Bieniemy said (via 610 Sports’ Brandon Kiley, on Twitter). Summoned into action because of Kareem Hunt‘s midseason exit and a Spencer Ware injury, Williams averaged 5.1 yards per carry during the regular season and scored four playoff touchdowns. Coming into his surprise promotion, Williams averaged 3.6 yards per tote in four seasons as a Dolphins backup. A year after signing a three-year, $15.25MM deal with the Browns, Hyde is attached to a one-year, $1.5MM Chiefs pact.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/29/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed off waivers: DL Pita Taumoepenu (from 49ers)
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: G Kofi Amichia
- Waived: OL Landon Turner
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OL Chidi Okeke
Oakland Raiders
- Waived/Injured: FB Ryan Yurachek
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Marcelias Sutton
- Waived/Injured: RB Adam Choice
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: DT Stevie Tu’ikolovatu
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DL Frank Herron
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/28/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: OL Trevon Tate
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Chunky Clements
- Waived: DT Johnny Robinson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: TE John Phillips
- Waived: QB T.J. Linta
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: RB Matthew Dayes
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers from Dolphins: LB James Burgess
- Placed on NFI List: RB Jalin Moore
Oakland Raiders
- Waived: G Chaz Green
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Devin Ross
- Waived: G Johnny Gibson
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Dontae Johnson
- Waived: LB Pita Taumoepenu
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: DL Dee Liner
Washington Redskins
- Signed: T Brian Wallace, T Jylan Ware
- Waived: T Adam Bisnowaty, T Juwann Bushell-Beatty
49ers Release Anthony Davis
The 49ers have released offensive tackle Anthony Davis, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). With that, the 29-year-old is now a free agent and eligible to speak to other teams. The NFL reinstated Davis from the reserve-retired list Tuesday.
Davis announced his retirement after the 2014 season and returned for one game in 2016 before retiring once again, citing concerns about concussions. But, earlier this month, Davis filed paperwork for reinstatement.
This does throw an interesting lineman into the free agent mix, based strictly on his work when he was a full-time starter. But that was five years ago.
The No. 11 overall pick in the 2010 draft, Davis played 16 games as San Francisco’s starting right tackle for four straight seasons. He started in each of the 49ers’ three NFC championship games earlier this decade and Super Bowl XLVII. But since the end of the 2013 season, Davis has played just eight games.
Coming into the NFL as a 20-year-old rookie nine years ago, Davis will not turn 30 until midway through this coming season. But it will obviously be difficult for a team that considers him to be convinced he will stick with football. That said, any Davis deal would likely qualify as a flier and be a low-risk addition, financially speaking. The Saints signed Derek Newton last year, after the former Texans right tackle starter missed more than two years due to severe knee injuries. Without those kind of injury concerns, it would not be too difficult to see a team inquiring about Davis.
49ers Work Out Kayvon Webster
The 49ers worked out cornerback Kayvon Webster on Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Webster stands as one of the best remaining free agents left on the board at this stage of the offseason. 
Webster also met with the Bears earlier this month, but left Chicago without a deal. Despite his recent injury troubles, he profiles as a potential difference-maker for the Niners who could be had on a cheap deal.
Webster joined the Texans late last offseason but played in just two games thanks to multiple injuries and two separate IR stints. Webster, who was lauded for his talent while buried behind big name corners in Denver, has failed to take the next leap forward in his career. Many expected big things when he reunited with Wade Phillips as a member of the Rams in 2017, but he failed to make a major impact in eleven games before suffering a season-ending Achilles tear.
The 49ers recently lost Jimmie Ward to a broken collarbone, so this would be an opportune time to see what Webster can do before Ward returns for training camp. The Niners also fortified their CB group by drafting Tim Harris in the sixth round, but there’s no guarantee that the rookie will make the final cut.