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Commanders Cut Kicker Following Missed Game-Winning Attempt vs. Dolphins

Kristen Wong

Commanders kicker Matt Gay was released after missing a game-winning field goal attempt in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins.
Commanders kicker Matt Gay was released after missing a game-winning field goal attempt in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The Commanders have released kicker Matt Gay, the team announced on Monday. The roster move comes after Gay missed two field-goal attempts in Sunday's 16-13 loss to the Dolphins.

Gay's time with Washington comes to a bitter end as the veteran kicker has made just 13 of 19 field goals this season (68.4%). Gay, who previously spent short stints on the Bucs, Rams and Colts, joined the Commanders ahead of the 2025 campaign but missed a few games due to injury and has arguably disappointed so far this season.

Commanders coach Dan Quinn said of Gay's release: “The performance, you’ve got to have it. We wanted it to work long term with Matt. It wasn’t (about) one game.”

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Gay's number was called at the end of regulation in Sunday's loss to Miami in Madrid, but he missed a 56-yarder that would have clinched a win and ended Washington's five-game losing streak. Instead, the Commanders left the door open, and Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson split the uprights on a 29-yard field goal in overtime for the win.

Gay went 2-of-4 on field goals on the day.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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