Matt Gay DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Athletic's Sam Warren reported that kicker Matt Gay is in the lead for the Las Vegas Raiders' kicking competition. Additionally, Gay was perfect during practice today, while undrafted rookie Kansei Matsuzawa doinked one off the right upright from 40 yards away but made everything else. The two are competing to replace long-time Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson. Gay enters camp as the favorite to win the competition because of his NFL experience. However, Matsuzawa has an opportunity to win the kicking competition if he can perform consistently on deep kicks. Over the last few seasons, Gay has struggled on 50-plus-yard kicks with the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Commanders.

Veteran kicker Matt Gay will compete with undrafted rookie Kansei Matsuzawa this summer in training camp after the Las Vegas Raiders didn't bring back All-Pro placekicker Daniel Carlson after he posted an 81.5% field-goal percentage in 2025, his worst since his rookie year in 2018. ESPN's Ryan McFadden writes that Gay isn't much of an upgrade over Carlson after making 73.9% of his kicks in 2025 in 12 games with the Washington Commanders and San Francisco Giants. Barring a disaster from Gay in camp, we'd expect him to get the nod over Matsuzawa to begin the 2026 regular season, but he'll surely be on a short leash. In his seven-year NFL career, the 32-year-old Gay, a former fifth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019 from the University of Utah, has made 84.3% of his 216 field-goal attempts (32-for-54 from 50-plus yards) and 96.7% of his extra points. The Raiders' offense is expected to take a step forward under new head coach Klint Kubiak, but that isn't a reason enough to target Gay in most fantasy football leagues.

The Las Vegas Raiders are signing veteran free-agent kicker Matt Gay to an undisclosed deal on Monday evening, his agents told Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. The move to bring Gay in pretty much seals previous placekicker Daniel Carlson leaving in unrestricted free agency. The 31-year-old Gay was cut by the Washington Commanders last year after going 13-for-19 on his field-goal attempts in 10 games. He was picked up by the San Francisco 49ers and went 4-for-4 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra-point attempts in just two games before Eddy Pineiro returned from injury. The former fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019 out of Utah has made 84.3% of his 216 career field-goal attempts, including going 32-for-54 from 50-plus yards in his seven NFL seasons. The Raiders' offense could be much improved in 2026, even with a rookie signal-caller most likely starting most of the games. Still, Gay shouldn't be drafted in 12-team fantasy leagues.