Former Colts fan favorite might be watching his career come to a close

It's hard to remember now, but for a moment, former Indianapolis Colts kicker Matt Gay was a brilliant signing. But it didn't take long for Gay's career to crumble, and now, he's been released by the Washington Commanders... meaning that career may finally be over.

Gay originally signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He was waived at the end of that season, briefly signed with the Colts, and then moved on to the Los Angeles Chargers. There, Gay thrived; he helped take the team to a Super Bowl championship in 2021 and was named to the Pro Bowl.

The Colts signed Gay for a second time, but this go-around, he had an eye-popping four-year, $22.5 million contract in 2023 - the largest free-agent contract for a kicker in NFL history. At first, it seemed like it was worth it. He made NFL history as the first kicker in NFL history to hit four 50+ yard field goals in one game. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.

Could former Colts kicker Matt Gay be nearing the end of his NFL career?

Despite his hot start, Gay quickly began to struggle in Indy, and over his two seasons as a Colt, he had a 50% success rate on attempts of 50 yards or longer (11 of 22), and his completion percentage in 2024 - 83.8% - was the 24th best percentage in the NFL among kickers with at least 10 attempts.

Despite there being two years left on his contract, the Colts chose to let Gay go, signing Spencer Shrader from the Chiefs as his replacement. And it wasn't long before Gay landed with the Washington Commanders, with another ridiculously large contract.

He was given a $4.25 million, fully guaranteed contract for one year, the largest guarantee ever given to a kicker in NFL history, and yet, he didn't even last the year in Washington.

The Commanders chose to cut Gay after his issues with missed kicks came back again, some of which have been blamed for at least some of the Commanders' losses. That includes their most recent, in which Washington lost to the Miami Dolphins by 16-13. Gay missed two kicks during that game, one of which would have been the game-winner.

Head coach Dan Quinn explained he wasn't thrilled about having to let Gay go, but considering how much he's struggled, it's not as if there was much choice, considering that — as Quinn told ESPN himself — it wasn't just one game where Gay had been missing field goals.

"Matt has been a fantastic teammate here and like an all-time good dude. So yeah, really bummed that it didn't work out," Quinn said. "But, yeah, we just felt, 'hey, this is the change that we needed'. And I just kind of make all decisions, 'Hey, this is what we think at this time is the best decisions for the team'. When they're hard like this one because of who the person is. It makes it especially difficult, but you still have to make decisions you think are best for the whole team."

At this point, it seems unlikely that Gay can come back from this. There might be another team willing to take a chance, but the sad reality is, the former Colts kicker who was great for one shining moment has likely just seen his NFL career come to an end.