Should Matt Gay’s Preseason Woes be a Concern for the Colts?

The Indianapolis Colts have rested most of the team’s starters in the 2024 NFL preseason. The exception? Matt Gay, the second-highest-paid kicker in the league. Carrying a cap hit of over five million dollars, Gay has had some struggles since arriving in Indianapolis. Afterranking 27th in field goal percentage (80.5%) amongst his peers in 2023 (min. 15 attempts), the 2024 season has not begun well for the 30-year-old.

Gay missed two field goal attempts against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night, bringing the tally to three for the preseason. The misses have come from 54, 53, and 44 yards and were all pulled wide left.

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The leg power is certainly there, but the accuracy appears to remain a lingering issue from last season. Lost scoring opportunities will lose you football games all day, something Colts fans have been all too familiar with since the turn of the century.

The issue is that the NFL kicking market is pretty dry. Not a lot of options exist out there – Randy Bullock is probably the best we’re looking at. Bullock last played for the New York Giants in 2023 where he knocked down five of his six attempts, so about the same conversion rate as Gay.

“I feel like the ball is coming off my foot really well,” said Gay. “I gotta make the kick regardless of who’s holding or what’s happening” (via James Boyd | The Athletic). If the misses persist, the Colts will be stuck with one of the worst special teams contracts in the league. General Manager Chris Ballard could bring in a kicker to compete, but the options aren’t abundant.

Head coach Shane Steichen said he thinks that Gay “is gonna be fine” after two disappointing performances. His lone made kick through two games came from 35 yards out.

On the bright side, Gay recorded a career-high eight field goals made from 50+ yards last season. Again, distance is not the issue. Missing kicks may be more costly than knocking down the occasional long one, though.

At the end of the day, Gay is likely to be the starting kicker in Week 1 when the Colts face the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 8th. Likely to be a close game, it should be a good test for Gay’s clutch time ability.

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