Colts Matt Gay's hernia is not the only injury he's dealt with since signing big contract

INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts kicker Matt Gay is back to practice, itching to play his first game of the season after having to miss the season opener following hernia surgery.

He's not used to sitting out, even when he's hurt. And the past year has taught him all about trying to strike that balance amid the pressure to perform.

Gay has dealt with two separate injuries since last December. The latest, of course, is the hernia surgery that he underwent following training camp. Though he was just a couple weeks removed from it, Gay attempted some kicks last week in an effort to play in Sunday's opener, but the trainers and coaches decided to hold him out come Sunday morning.

Last December, he faced a similar dilemma.

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After starting his first season with the Colts looking the part of his Pro Bowl self with 16 field-goal makes in 18 attempts, Gay hit a skid. He missed one field goal each in games against the Patriots and Buccaneers, but the Colts won. He then missed a field goal and an extra point against the Bengals, when the Colts were blown out.

When he missed two more kicks the next game out against the Steelers, Gay knew something wasn't feeling right. He went to the Colts trainers early the next week and found out his right hip was injured.

The Colts rested him for that Wednesday's practice to hope it would heal up, but it didn't. And so Gay had a decision to make: He could either sit out games or try to play through it.

With only three regular-season games remaining and the Colts in the thick of an AFC South race, he decided to push through. He did not miss a practice and wasn't in for treatment for those final three weeks.

"I chose to go out on the field, so I'm responsible for what happened," Gay said. "I wish I could have been more successful last year than I was."

Gay finished the season 33 of 41 on field goals, converting at an 80.5% clip that marked his worst in a season since his rookie year with the Buccaneers in 2019. But it was a clear season of two halves, as he was 16 of 18 to start and 17 of 23 to finish.

That split, and the hip he fought through amid it, is why the Colts have expressed optimism and belief in Gay every time the question has come up since.

"Let me defend Matt here a little bit," general manager Chris Ballard said after the preseason, "because there's more to the story."

The story he was referring to was the hip injury.

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But that confidence all came before Gay's hernia flared up in the days following the preseason finale. He got it checked out and suddenly needed to go in for surgery.

He spent last week not practicing but doing some kicking to try to get ready to play. After all, since he pushed through the hip last fall, he hadn't missed a game since 2020.

But this one came with 17 games to go and no bye week until December. The Colts opted to rest him behind Spencer Shrader and chose not to kick any field goals in the 29-27 loss to the Texans.

The decision did allow Gay to sit idle through the weekend and early part of the week in order to practice again Wednesday. He hopes he's through the hernia problems so he can make his debut on Sunday against the Packers at Lambeau Field -- and to have the rebound season he's been waiting for.

For a player who hasn't had to play through injuries before, last year brought a lesson.

"There's a point in time between pushing through and wanting to be there for your team and being smart," Gay said. "Especially with kicking, it's a game of inches. You find that there's minor details in those things. If your body can be working at optimum levels and have everything firing on all cylinders, you're going to be in the best shape you possibly can. If one thing's off, other things start to get off, and then you tweak things to try to manage it."

But in his first season with the Colts after signing the largest free agent deal in NFL history at four years and $22.5 million, Gay's decision to keep playing showed something to his team.

"Matt has that killer instinct," said punter Rigoberto Sanchez, who holds for Gay on field goals and extra points. "He's just a ball player who wants to be out there and help his team win.

"He'll do anything and everything to make that happen."

Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on X @NateAtkins_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts Matt Gay's hernia is not the only injury he's dealt with since signing big contract