Robbie Gould says 'thank you' to Chicago Bears fans

Robbie Gould will go down as one of the all-time great Chicago Bears players, and one of the best kickers in the entire NFL. We wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.

On Friday, he and his family issued the following statement on his website:

"To the Greatest Fans in the NFL,

As my time as a Chicago Bear has come to an end, I wanted to take a moment to write a letter to sincerely thank the entire city for the past eleven years of my career.

I arrived in Chicago in 2005, feeling both lucky and excited for the opportunity to fulfill my childhood dream of playing for a first-class NFL organization. I cannot thank The McCaskey Family enough for making the start of my dream come true.

I know I have not been perfect, so I thank you for supporting me during the ups and downs of my career. Thank you for cheering for us when we won, and thank you for your words of encouragement when we didn't. I have the most amazing job in the entire world, and you have made it easy for me to love every single minute of my time here.

It is my hope that the Chicago Bears bring home a Super Bowl win this year; each and every one of my teammates throughout my career has worked laboriously to bring home a Lombardi Trophy for you. For that reason, this town deserves it.

On a personal level, I have been incredibly fortunate during my journey here, from marrying my wife, to the birth of my two sons. Each and every day is a blessing here for us. Chicago will always be home.

Thank you, from the bottom of my family's heart, for the laughs, the tears, the experiences, and the memories. It has undoubtedly been some of the best years of our lives.

ONCE A BEAR, ALWAYS A BEAR.

Robbie, Lauren, Griffin, and Gavin"