Colts' training camp roster preview: K Matt Gay

Veterans and rookies for the Indianapolis Colts will report for training camp on July 24th, with the first practice taking place on July 25th.

Between now and then I will be previewing the Colts’ 91-man roster with a look back at each player’s 2023 season, along with what’s ahead for 2024.

I’ll be going through the Colts’ roster alphabetically, so up next is kicker Matt Gay. To stay up to date with our other previews, be sure to head over to Colts Wire.

2023 Season Review

The Colts signed Gay last offseason to what was the second-most lucrative contract for a kicker in NFL history. Gay will enter the 2024 season as the third-highest-paid kicker, averaging $5.625 million per year.

However, in an interview with 107.5 The Fan, Gay acknowledged that the 2023 season was a “down year” by the standards he sets for himself.

Gay was reliable on extra point attempts, making 35 of his 36 attempts. He was also quite good from under 40 yards, making 18-of-19 attempts. But from deep was where Gay had his ups and downs, going 15-for-22 from 40-plus yards, with five of those misses coming from over 50 yards.

Overall, Gay was 33-for-41 on field goal attempts, including a historic performance against Baltimore in Week 3, where he became the first kicker in league history or make four kicks from over 50 yards, which includes the game-winner. However, Gay would rank 26th in field goal percentage, making 80.5 percent of his attempts.

“I feel like last year, for me, a bit of a down year by my standards coming off some good years,” said Gay via 107.5 The Fan. “Had a lot of kicks that were right there, and again that doesn’t matter, kicking’s black and white, it either went in or it didn’t.

“So I had a lot of kicks that hit the upright, or things like that, so definitely was not up to my standards last year. A lot that I can learn from, and looking forward to Year 2 to improve and come back better.”

As highlighted above, while last season may not have been up to Gay’s standards, if a few more of those kicks from 50-plus split the uprights, his overall numbers will look fairly different.

So perhaps the big thing for Gay is just trying to find a bit more consistency from deep, which is what every kicker is always trying to accomplish. Last year’s performance, however, does seem to be the outlier for his career. From 2019-2022, Gay was 17-for-24 from 50-plus yards.

The margin for winning and losing in the NFL is incredibly small, and as we all know, can be the difference between winning and losing a game. Gay is one of the highest-paid kickers in the game, and part of the equation to getting over that playoff hump for the Colts will include him living up to that contract.