The Indianapolis Colts may be without their starting kicker, Matt Gay, for Week 1 as he recovers from hernia surgery. Gay informed reporters that he underwent the procedure after experiencing pain last weekend, according to Mike Chappell of FOX59/CBS4 Sports. While the surgery’s recovery time is expected to be short, his status for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans remains uncertain.
Gay’s injury was diagnosed shortly after he reported discomfort, leading to a quick decision to proceed with surgery. Though the timeline for recovery is relatively brief, the Colts are preparing for the possibility that Gay won’t be ready to take the field for the season opener.
After a strong three-year run with the Los Angeles Rams, Gay signed a four-year, $22.5 million deal with the Colts last offseason. However, his first year in Indianapolis didn’t match his previous form. Gay converted only 80.5% of his field goal attempts, his lowest accuracy since his rookie year, though he still had notable highlights. One standout performance came in September when he set a single-game record by hitting four field goals from beyond 50 yards. Additionally, he was nearly perfect on extra points, converting 35 out of 36 attempts.
In case Gay is unavailable for Week 1, the Colts have already signed rookie kicker Spencer Shrader to their practice squad. Shrader, who went undrafted out of Notre Dame, made 15 of his 22 field goal attempts and 61 of 62 extra point attempts last season. Before transferring to Notre Dame, Shrader spent four seasons at South Florida, where he posted a 68.3% field goal success rate and was reliable on extra points, hitting 99% of his attempts.
As Gay works through his recovery, the Colts may need to rely on Shrader in the short term to handle kicking duties as they open the season.
