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Bears release kicker Robbie Gould

The Bears announced late Sunday night that they have released Robbie Gould, the ninth-most-accurate field goal kicker in NFL history. Gould spent 11 seasons in Chicago.

In last Thursday's preseason finale, a meaningless game for most starters, Gould missed 2 extra-point attempts. He was wide left on the first, and the second was partially blocked. Gould also connected on his only 2 field-goal attempts in that game, from 30 and 43 yards.

Gould had been the longest-tenured member of the team, and the only remaining player from the Super Bowl XLI team.

He was voted to his only Pro Bowl during that Super Bowl season of 2006, nailing 32 of 36 FG attempts and finishing second in the NFL with 143 points. He converted a franchise-record 24 straight field goals to open the season. Gould is also the Bears' all-time leader in points (1,207) and field goals (276).

But last season Gould suffered a late-season slump. In Week 13, he missed what would have been a game-winning, 36-yard FG as time expired in a game the Bears lost 26-20 in overtime. He also missed a 40-yard try wide left in the third quarter in that game after connecting from 40 and 51 yards in the first quarter.

The following week, Gould pushed a potential 50-yard, game-tying kick wide right with 1:40 remaining and Washington held on for a 24-21 victory.

He started the season by making 15 straight field goals but missed 3 straight on two separate occasions after that.

Still, Gould connected on 33 of 39 FG tries last season for an 84.6 percent success rate, just a fraction below his career mark of 85.4, the best in franchise history. He was good on 7 of 9 attempts from 50 yards or longer, a 77.8 percent success rate, which boosted his career mark from 50 or longer to 74.2 percent, third-best in NFL history.

Gould entered the league as an undrafted free agent with New England in 2005, but he was waived by the Patriots at the end of the preseason. He was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad a week later but waived after three weeks.

He went home to Pennsylvania and was working construction for a family friend when the Bears signed him on Oct. 8. He started an 11-year career in Chicago by converting 21 of 27 FG attempts in the final 13 games of the season.

The move saves the Bears Gould's $3 million base salary this season, but they're on the hook for the $600,000 prorated portion of his signing bonus. His average annual salary of $3.75 million was fifth-highest in the league among kickers.

The Bears do not currently have another kicker on their roster, and they did not bring another kicker to training camp. It will be interesting to see what their plan is for Sunday's season opener against the Texans in Houston.

• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter at @BobLeGere.

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