Moments after Robbie Gould’s game-winning field goal eliminated the Packers from the playoffs Saturday night, the Bears named their former kicker—currently starring on the San Francisco 49ers—their Player of the Year for the 2021 season.
“Robbie did what no Bears team has done in quite a while and that’s defeat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers,” said Bears owner George McCaskey. “And we hope by naming Robbie our Player of the Year he will forgive us for foolishly cutting him back in 2016.”
While McCaskey acknowledged it’s unprecedented to name a player who left the team more than five years ago as their Player of the Year, the Bears owner gave a sensible answer.
“I might just be a fan rather than an actual executive with any working knowledge about the business of football, but I can tell you that Robbie did more to excite Bears fans this year than anyone on our current roster,” said McCaskey. “Who else were we going to name our Player of the Year anyway? He’s kind of letting us off the hook.”
McCaskey added that there has been talk of a ticker-tape parade honoring Gould once his playoff run with the 49ers concludes.
Added McCaskey: “It’s impossible to overstate how monumental of a milestone this is for Bears fans.”
