Commanders open up on decision to cut veteran starter

The Washington Commanders are switching kickers after cutting Matt Gay and signing Jake Moody.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn explained the decision to move on from Gay.

“Matt has been a fantastic teammate here and like an all-time good dude," Quinn said.

"So yeah, really bummed that it didn't work out. But, yeah, we just felt, ‘hey, this is the change that we needed’. And I just kind of make all decisions, ‘Hey, this is what we think at this time is the best decisions for the team’. When they're hard like this one because of who the person is. It makes it especially difficult, but you still have to make decisions you think are best for the whole team.”

Chicago Bears kicker Jake Moody on the sidelines against the New Orleans Saints. | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

Commanders move on from Gay, sign Moody

Gay missed a pair of field goal attempts from over 50 yards against the Miami Dolphins, but the decision went beyond those misses.

“We're just not making those kicks. Not just the ones yesterday. We just want to look at the big picture of things and make sure we can just make the decisions that are best for the team," Quinn said.

"It was a hard one for sure, but, you know, like at that position, the performance, you know, got to have it and, you know, so really bummed. We wanted us to work out long-term with Matt but that was the decision that we felt was best, but it wasn't from one game for sure.”

Now, the Commanders turn to Moody, who was a third-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, when general manager Adam Peters was with the team. He was cut by the Niners after Week 1 and joined the Chicago Bears for two games this season while Cairo Santos was injured.

Moody now gets a chance to re-establish his career with the Commanders as the team's likely kicker for the final six weeks of the season.

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