ReutersConsidering how close he came to not finishing the season, it’s hardly a surprise the 49ers don’t want to commit to kicker David Akers for next year.
According to Adam Caplan of TheSidelineView.com, the 49ers plan to release Akers before the start of the league year on March 12.
The vote of confidence the 49ers gave him during a shaky season was temporary, and with a base salary of $3 million, it’s no wonder they think they can find a better, or at least cheaper option for 2013.
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This guy is so muck more than football. Stay classy David. I wish you all the best.
Maybe they will sign Lauren Silberman.
Akers, I love you bud, but it is definitely time to hang the cleats up. Good luck in life after football. Sorry you didn’t get the trophy…you deserved one
I cannot remember a more abrupt, definitive fall from grace. This guy was at the top of his game last season and hit a 63 harder to start the season. I know he was hurt (hernias), but he was also severely mentally damaged.
Siiiiiggghhh. They will sign my BOY, Phil “pure money” Dawson.
They can use one of their seventh-round picks on a PK and feel better moving forward than by bringing Akers back. By the end of the year, Akers wasn’t an asset, he was a liability, and even an average kicker would be better.
As long as they don’t sign Cundiff or Crosby they are making progress
And water is wet. Sad ending to a great career. I doubt he gets Nother chance. His body is done. He was an all time great. I know this because I watched him play against my skins twice a year for a decade
I think the Niners should keep him.
Add Akers to this list:
Olindo Mare – CHI
Mike Nugent – CIN
Josh Brown – CIN
Phil Dawson – CLE
Jason Hanson – DET
Shayne Graham – HOU
Nate Kaeding – MIA
Lawrence Tynes – NYG
Nick Folk – NYJ
Nick Novak – SD
Steven Hauschka – SEA
Billy Cundiff – SF
Rob Bironas – TEN
Ryan Longwell – FA
Neil Rackers – FA
I’d love to get Bironas, but Dawson or Tynes are great options as full. Also, a rookie like Zeurlein or Tucker would be a great find in the draft if possible. Lots of options…
The hernia thing is bogus in talking about Akers’ struggles. He nailed that 63-yarder, which was not aided by a Denver-like high altitude natural lift like the Bronco kicker’s 63-yarder. You don’t hit that with a hernia injury (it was in Green Bay for crying out loud).
The stats will show 95 percent of Akers’ misses were pushed to the left, like the one in the SB that was wiped out by a BS roughing call (he was never touched). Amazing how a vet like that couldn’t correct a technique/mechanical flaw. Maybe it was all in his head, which rules out everything else as a cause.
In the last regular season game vs. Ariz, he had nothing. It was painful to watch. Harbaugh tried to light a fire under him by bringing in another kicker. Worked vs. Green Bay but then he misses a makable kick vs. ATL that could have cost them the game until Bowman bailed him out.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a stranger case of a mental block than with Akers. If you were at the games, you saw it. He would hit every pregame warmup kick like nails. He’d be drilling them through the crossbars from 45 or 50 out. And, then the game would start and he’d clang these easy kicks off to the left. He could have won both Rams games. He missed an easy one in the NFC Championship game. There was no question that this was going to happen.
The only reason Akers was available to the Niners in the first place was, he had screwed the pooch in Philly. They’re lucky they got a good year out of him. Time to move on. Hauschka is available. He is deadly inside the 50.
David is a class guy who has more than his share of misfortune. His daughter had that tumor and getting wiped out by a Ponzi scheme. I was sorry to see him leave Philadelphia and wish him nothing but the best as he goes on forward to whatever is next.
sisqsage says:
The hernia thing is bogus in talking about Akers’ struggles. He nailed that 63-yarder, which was not aided by a Denver-like high altitude natural lift like the Bronco kicker’s 63-yarder. You don’t hit that with a hernia injury (it was in Green Bay for crying out loud).
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He had double hernia surgery about this time last year, and he was doing well until he aggravated it in November. That’s when it all went downhill. The 63 yarder in GB was in September. So yeah…the hernia probably was the source of his late-season troubles.