The Colts have generally preferred to have two kickers on their roster during training camp, and have on occasion kept a kicker stashed on their practice squad during the season. Last year, that camp leg was Spencer Shrader, an undrafted free agent from Notre Dame.
This year, Shrader might just wind up being the Colts' top kicker.
The Colts released veteran Matt Gay – a 2023 free agent signing – on April 10 because of what they saw from Shrader in 2024, general manager Chris Ballard said Monday.
"Matt is a good kicker, he's still a good kicker," Ballard said. "Matt is still going to be a good kicker in this league. I think a lot of it had to do with Spencer. Having Spencer last year gave us a real insight to his talent level."
Shrader stepped in for Gay in the Colts' 2024 season opener against the Houston Texans and connected on all three of his PAT attempts. And while the Colts had an up-close look at him, what Shrader did over a two-week stretch in November impressed folks back in Indianapolis.
Shrader signed with the New York Jets' practice squad on Oct. 30 and made a pair of field goals – from 25 and 45 yards – in a Nov. 10 game against the Arizona Cardinals. The Kansas City Chiefs then signed Shrader off the Jets' practice squad; a week later, he made all three PAT attempts against the Buffalo Bills. On Nov. 24, Shrader made all three of his PATs and hit all three of his field goal attempts against the Carolina Panthers: A 25-yarder, a 41-yarder and a game-winning 31-yarder as time expired.
The Chiefs placed Shrader on injured reserve later in the season, and he did not kick again for Kansas City. The Colts brought Shrader back in March.
"Then he leaves us and performs and performs at two different teams –you know how hard that is?" Ballard said. "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."
Shrader will still have to earn being the Colts' kicker in 2025 through the offseason program and preseason, though. But moving on from Gay – who made 83.8 percent of his kicks last year, though was three of nine from 50-plus yards – was sign the Colts have plenty of belief in the sort of kicker Shrader can become.
"We usually always bring in two kickers as it is. We're always looking for a guy with upside, kind of like last year with Spencer (Shrader). I give our special team coaches all the credit for that. They identified Spencer last year and said, 'Look, he's got upside.' We didn't necessarily have a vision that this is how it would work out, but you never know. So, they do a great job finding guys with some upside. So, we'll look for a guy with some leg strength and upside, and think we can work with and see how it plays out."
