Stampede Blue
Spencer Shrader appears to be in the driver’s seat to win the Colts starting kicking job this offseason, but it’s not a given.
The Indianapolis Colts surprised many by re-signing place kicker Spencer Shrader back to their roster earlier this offseason.
The Colts already had veteran (and former Pro Bowler) Matt Gay in the fold, who was one of the highest paid kickers in football, and had prospects of minimal cap savings—should he surprisingly be released.
We now know that the Colts really valued Shrader, especially having seen him kick for both the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs during short stints following his Colts departure.
He wasn’t signed to be another camp and preseason leg for Indy, but rather to replace Gay, who hadn’t lived up to his Colts contract and had struggled from distance during 2024.
Shrader was initially signed following last year’s NFL Draft as a priority undrafted rookie free agent by the Colts, impressing the team during training camp and preseason, before being released as part of the team’s final 53-man roster cuts and re-signed to their practice squad for stints—having actually been elevated to handle their placekicking duties in the Week 1 opener due to an injured Matt Gay being unavailable.
Shrader appears to be the frontrunner for the Colts starting place kicking job, but special teams coordinator Brian Mason described it as an ‘open competition’ on Wednesday (via The Athletic’s James Boyd):
Like Shrader before him, Trujillo was signed as a priority undrafted rookie free agent as well, and the ball has been regarded as ‘exploding off his foot’ (via former Stampede Blue contributor Jake Arthur).
While it’s unlikely that Trujillo bests Shrader, who appears to be in the driver’s seat to win the starting kicking job outright, stranger things have happened. You don’t have to look very far, as the Colts made a shocking decision at kicker as recently as this early offseason.
