Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Matt Gay will solve kicking woes
Since Matt Bryant’s departure, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicking game has been rocky. However, rookie Matt Gay is here to change the narrative.
Connor Barth, Rian Lindell, Roberto Aguayo, Kyle Brindza, Patrick Murray, Chandler Catanzaro, Nick Folk, Mike Nugent, Shane Andrus and Cairo Santos. These are the 10 kickers that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have employed since losing Matt Bryant to the division-rival Atlanta Falcons after the 2008 season. 10 kickers in as many seasons — pretty sad, right?
High draft picks (Aguayo), expensive free agent signings (Catanzaro), undrafted free agents (Brindza and Murray) and everything in between have been tried to find a solution, yet none have succeeded. It’s the most elusive problem that Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht and his predecessors have yet to solve.
Yet, in spite of all of these failings, Licht and new head coach Bruce Arians have finally found their solution: rookie Matt Gay.
Of course, the Bucs re-signed Santos for 2019 to a one-year deal. He came in midway through the 2018 campaign and went 9-for-12 on field goals in addition to being perfect on extra points. That’s not a bad year at all. However, the search for a long-term kicker that Tampa can rely on for at least the next five years is ongoing. Hence, the selection of Gay in the fifth round of this year’s draft.
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Buccaneers fans are rightfully hesitant to believe in Gay. After all, the last time Tampa drafted a kicker, it was the second-round selection of Aguayo. Safe to say that didn’t work out. However, NFL teams are using picks in the fourth round and later more and more in order to find their specialists of the present and future.
For example, new Buccaneers punter Bradley Pinion was a fifth-round pick of the 49ers in the 2015 NFL Draft. The 49ers also took his replacement, Mitch Wisnowsky (Gay’s teammate at Utah), in the fourth round of this year’s draft. In the fifth round of the 2019 draft, the Patriots took Stanford punter Jake Bailey while the Browns selected Oklahoma kicker Austin Seibert.
As scoring continues to become more and more important in the NFL, teams need specialists they can rely on between the uprights and to pin the opposing teams deep in their own territory.
In the case of Gay, the former Utah Ute was one of college football’s best kickers during his two seasons with the team. He was a consensus All-American and the Lou Groza Award winner for the 2017 season and was named to the All Pac-12 Team during both the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
During his award-winning 2017 campaign, Gay made 30 out of 34 field goals and nailed five kicks over 50 yards. Last season, he went 26 for 31. He has a booming, powerful leg, and can become more accurate in time. Furthermore, before starring with Utes, he played soccer at Utah Valley University from 2014-16, starting 33 games. He also participated in a U.S Soccer National Team Residency.
As of right now, though, Gay is currently embroiled in a battle with Santos for the starting kicker spot in training camp. It’s highly unlikely that Arians and the coaching staff will carry two kickers heading into the regular season, so this competition is likely for all the marbles.
During last Friday’s practice, Santos went 8-for-9, only missing a 55-yarder. Gay, however, was perfect during Saturday’s session, hitting all 10 of his field goals, including a very long 57-yarder. Arians commented after on that “bomb” of a conversion, noting the power Gay has in his leg, per Buccaneers.com.
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So let’s recap: Pedigree? Check. Powerful leg? Obviously. Accuracy? Apparently coming along nicely. Impressing the coaching staff? Most certainly.
As good as Santos has been, it seems like the starting kicking position is Gay’s to lose, more so with each passing day. And if history serves as an indicator, Arians and the offense will need Gay’s leg in a bevy of situations this season. Let’s hope the rookie can continue to seize the moment and rise to the occasion in his quest to lock down the Buccaneers kicking spot for the foreseeable future.