A less-than-ideal preseason for Colts kicker Matt Gay has gotten worse.
Head coach Shane Steichen shared Wednesday that Gay, previously diagnosed with a hamstring injury, is actually dealing with a hernia suffered the weekend after the preseason finale in Cincinnati. On a day where he was scheduled to kick, the 30-year-old will not practice. Steichen declined to state if Gay had surgery and doesn’t have any long-term concerns.
When the Colts signed Gay to a four-year, $22.5 million contract in 2023, making him the highest-paid kicker in league history at the time, the expectation was that he would provide the consistency and stability at the position that the Colts have been missing since franchise legend Adam Vinatieri retired in 2021. Just over a year into the deal, the results have been somewhat underwhelming.
After a stellar performance in Week 3 at Baltimore last season, when Gay was a perfect 5-for-5 including four makes from beyond 50 yards in hurricane conditions, his level dropped off. He finished the season 33-for-41 (80.5%) and 35-for-36 on extra points.
Entering his second season in Indianapolis, Gay struggled in preseason. He was just 1-for-4 on field goals in three preseason appearances, which raised some questions about his ability going into Week 1. Now, his status is legitimately in jeopardy with the Texans coming to town on Sunday to open the season.
While Gay is the only kicker the Colts kept on their initial 53-man roster, they did sign undrafted rookie Spencer Shrader to their practice squad on Aug. 29 after a perfect preseason in which he made all six of his kicks.
