INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts on Thursday moved on from kicker Matt Gay, releasing the highly paid veteran two years into a four-year contract.
Gay arrived in Indianapolis in 2023 as a free agent to much fanfare after winning a Super Bowl and making a Pro Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. The Colts lured him to Indianapolis with a four-year deal worth $22.5 million, at the time the most lucrative contract given to a free agent kicker. But the move never truly paid off for the Colts, with Gay converting just 82.1% of his field goal attempts (64 of 78) during the past two seasons -- including a shocking 50% success rate on attempts of 50 yards or longer (11 of 22).
Before his time with the Colts, Gay converted 17 of 23 attempts from 50 yards and beyond (74%), including 12 of 15 in three years with the Rams.
Gay, 31, battled injuries at times during the past two seasons, including a hernia that required surgery during the 2024 preseason. Gay returned in Week 2 and said his health was not a factor in his struggles.
"Kicking is very, very mental," Gay said. "I've been very good from 50-plus in my career, and I have full confidence going forward that I can make these kicks. I've shown that I can do that."
At the same time, the Colts seemed to echo that confidence in Gay. Coach Shane Steichen, asked repeatedly about his kicker, stuck with him.
"Matt's our kicker," he said in October. "He's been doing it for a long time ... He knows he's got to make those going forward, but he is our kicker."
The Colts signed kicker Spencer Shrader last month. He was 5-for-5 on field goal attempts during his rookie season in 2024, spending time with three teams, including the Colts.
The Colts have found it challenging to find kicking consistency since enjoying 14 seasons with three-time All-Pro kicker Adam Vinatieri. He last kicked for the team in 2019, and Indianapolis has cycled through numerous kickers in the intervening seasons.
A fifth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019, Gay has a career success rate of 85.5% on field goal attempts (165 of 193) and 96.3% on PAT attempts (206 of 214).