Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishThe Indianapolis Colts released kicker Matt Gay, the team announced Thursday. It’s a surprising development as it comes just two years after the Colts signed Gay to a four-year, $22.5 million deal that, at the time, was the most lucrative free-agent contract for a kicker in NFL history.Indianapolis will now move forward with second-year player Spencer Shrader, who has only attempted (and made) five field goals in the NFL, as the lone kicker on its roster. After going undrafted out of Notre Dame last year, Shrader joined the Colts’ practice squad and appeared in one game, making three extra points, before moving on to the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.Gay’s accuracy plummeted from the high marks he posted with his previous team, the Los Angeles Rams, with whom he helped win the Super Bowl during 2021 season. In Gay’s two seasons with the Colts, he made 82.1% of his field goal attempts (64-of-78) compared to 92.5% (74-of-80) during his previous three years with the Rams. He particularly struggled on field goals from 50-plus yards away, converting just 50% (11-of-22) during his two years in Indianapolis compared to 80% (12-of-15) in three years with L.A. Gay did not miss a field goal attempt inside 50 yards last year, but he went 3-for-9 on kicks from 50-plus yards while, at times, managing a hip injury and recovering from hernia surgery.When Shrader inked a two-year deal with Indy last month during free agency, which raised questions about Gay’s future, a league source told The Athletic that the Colts “can’t have enough competition.” In theory, that competition was going to take place during training camp, but Indianapolis decided to pull the plug on Gay before the team regathered. The 31-year-old still had two years left on his contract.Since the Colts immediately released Gay with no plan of designating him has a post-June 1 release, the move will cost them $4 million in dead money this year while creating $2.75 million in cap space. If the team had waited and made Gay a post-June 1 release, it would only have taken on $2 million in dead money this year (and $2 million next year) while creating $4.75 million in cap space. The Colts, according to Over the Cap, still have $24.6 million in cap space, so taking on more dead money now likely wasn’t seen as an issue.Shrader’s inexperience puts a lot of pressure on him as the presumed starter. The 25-year-old, who was born in Indianapolis, was a frequent member of Colts practice squad last year, going through a series of signings and releases, before eventually earning bigger roles with the Jets and Chiefs.While Shrader did not attempt a field goal in his lone appearance with the Colts, he went 2-for-2 on field goal attempts in one game for the Jets and 3-for-3 in two games for the Chiefs before a right hamstring injury sent him to season-ending injured reserve. While Gay’s struggles from distance were well-documented last year, it’s worth noting that Shrader has yet to attempt a field goal of 50-plus yards in the NFL. Shrader converted just 5-of-12 (41.7%) of those attempts across five college seasons.Required reading(Photo of Gay: Eakin Howard / Getty Images)
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