The Indianapolis Colts signed kicker Spencer Shrader this offseason. Will the signing prove to be a great move?
Spencer Shrader played college football at South Florida and Notre Dame. During his career, he made 156 of his 158 extra-point attempts. He also made 43 of his 63 field-goal attempts. Shrader then went undrafted in 2024. He later signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent. He was waived and re-signed to the Colts’ practice squad.
Shrader was elevated to the team’s active roster for the Week 1 game against the Houston Texans. In that contest, he made all three extra-point attempts in the losing effort.
Shrader was eventually released. He went on to have stints with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. He finished his rookie year, making all nine extra point attempts and all five field goal attempts. Now, he’s back in Indianapolis.
Signing Kicker Spencer Shrader Special Could Be a Great Move By the Indianapolis Colts
Taking Over for Matt Gay
Matt Gay was expected to remain as the Colts’ kicker. The 2021 Pro Bowler signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract with the team in 2023. It was the largest free-agent contract for a kicker in NFL history. He’s known for his impressive performance during Week 3 of the 2023 season. In that contest against the Baltimore Ravens, Gay became the first kicker in NFL history to hit four 50+ yard field goals in one game. He kicked the game-winner in overtime as the Colts won 22-19.
But earlier this offseason, the Colts decided to move on from Gay in favor of Shrader. Gay was released and eventually signed with the Washington Commanders. Colts general manager Chris Ballard said the decision was far less about Gay and more so about how Shrader played last season (via Colts.com).
“He leaves us and performs and performs at two different teams –you know how hard that is? That’s difficult now, to go to two different teams and have to perform – that is not easy. You’re working with a totally different operation at both – different snapper and different holder – and to go in and be successful. This had more to do with Spencer than it did, really, with Matt.”
Ballard believes in Shrader. We’ll see if he can do a good job taking over for Gay this year.
