The Las Vegas Raiders have a true training camp competition at kicker for the first time in many years as a battle is taking place to replace longtime stalwart Daniel Carlson, the second-leading scorer in franchise history.
Veteran Matt Gay is hoping a few tweaks made in his approach this offseason and a reunion with special teams coach Joe DeCamillis will be enough to help him regain a good enough form to hold off popular undrafted rookie free agent Kansei Matsuzawa for the roster spot.
“I think it’s a legitimate competition,” DeCamillis said after Sunday’s practice at the team facility.
He did leave the door open to both players being part of the organization this season, however.
DeCamillis pointed out during a question about what Matsuzawa would have to do to win the roster spot that he would be eligible for a practice squad exemption to not count against the team’s 16-player limit even if he does fall short against Gay in training camp, a scenario that feels realistic.
“He’s in the competition, so he’s got to do a great job there,” DeCamillis said. “But the great thing about his situation is, in the international part of it, there might be an extra spot for him, depending upon how it is. So, hopefully he can show enough, which knock on wood, I hope he keeps showing what he’s showing right now, and hopefully, we get a chance to keep him at the end of camp which would be great.”
DeCamillis, however, has seen Gay at his best in some clutch situations and could favor that experience.
The duo won a Super Bowl together with the Rams during the 2021 season and Gay had by far his two best seasons as a pro under the tutelage of DeCamillis in Los Angeles as he made 60 of 64 kicks, including 11 of 14 from 50 or more yards.
It was an incredible run that Gay hasn’t been able to replicate during his other five seasons, both before and after.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2019 fifth-round pickout out of Utah is just 81-for-101 in stints with the Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers in the last three seasons.
He believes the reunion with DeCamillis, who has spent the last three seasons coaching in college, has already gone a long way to get him back on track.
“I’m hitting the ball really well right now,” Gay said despite a miss on a 52-yard kick during a two-minute drill in the only kick either attempted during the competitive portion of the practice. “I think I’m at my best when I’m not thinking too much and I’m just jogging out there, hitting balls, and jogging off. I’d like to get back to that performance and that peak where I was (with the Rams). I know that that’s still in me. I still have that. I’ve shown myself that I can do it when I hit the ball right now. It’s just translating into games.”
In an effort to get back to that point, Gay spent a great deal of time with DeCamillis upon their reunion with the Raiders looking at film of his kicks in the time they were apart and from when they worked together.
“We kind of looked to see what had gone wrong, or what was different, or what had changed, and just trying to get me back to a couple cues,” Gay said. “Like for me, I can’t overthink tons of stuff, but like one or two cues that helped me lock in my technique have been really good.
“Me and Joe work really well together, he kind of gets me. He kind of knows when to push me, what to say, and it’s been really good for me. We kind of diagnosed the film and were able to eliminate some stuff that was just too much stuff going on in the swing and take that out. And I’ve really seen the benefits of it through OTAs and through the first week here.”
Matsuzawa, who gained immense popularity online as the “Tokyo Toe” at Hawaii, has taken a very untraditional route to the league. The Japanese-born 27-year-old watched a football game for the first time in his life when he attended the Oakland Coliseum to watch the Raiders and Rams play during a trip to the United States when he was 19 years old and was inspired to learn to kick by watching YouTube videos.
His big leg and personality helped make him popular at Hawaii as he thrived in such clutch situations the last two seasons and now he has a legitimate shot to kick in the NFL.
“It’s so amazing,” he said. “I dreamed of playing in the NFL seven years ago, and then my dream is coming true. But there’s a lot of things going on, and I want to do better. I want to be a great player. So, it’s been amazing, but I feel like this is the first step of my new journey here.”
Both kickers raved about each other, but they will also be going head-to-head each day.
That involves not only being the more consistent kicker on field goals, but also being able to execute some of the unique kickoffs that are now required with the modern NFL rules.
They insist they are up for the challenge.
“Competition breeds success in every position,” Gay said. “You’re forced to come in here prepared mentally, physically every single day. I want to win every single kick. I want to win every single day. And so, that forces me to lock in and stay focused every single day. You got a guy like Kansei who’s hitting the ball really, really well. It forces you to come in here and compete. It forces you to just take the next step up, to not take days off and be able to continue to chase and get better every single day.
“At the end of the day, Kansei is fantastic. I love him, but I’m competing with myself. I’m trying to chase something that personally, against myself, I’ve been trying to get back to for a while. So, more than anything, I’m chasing that against myself more than anything else.”
And there may be room for both of them.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
