Dan Quinn Speaks out on Commanders Releasing Kicker Matt Gay Before Bye Week
The NFL is very often a tough business. That’s the overall message Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn delivered when he addressed the team releasing kicker Matt Gay ahead of the team’s bye week.
The Commanders moved on from the veteran kicker the day after he missed two kicks in the league’s first-ever regular season matchup in Spain. One of those misses was a 56-yard attempt in a tie game with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Miami Dolphins defeated the Commanders during overtime of that matchup 16-13.
“Matt has been a fantastic teammate here,” Quinn told the media Tuesday. “An all-time good dude, so really bummed that didn’t work out. But we just felt like this was the change that we needed.
“This is what we think, at this time, is the best decision 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 the decisions that you think are best for the whole team.”
In 10 games this season, Gay made a career-low 68.4% of his field goals.
Gay was particularly struggling from long distance. Of his six misses this season, five of them came from 50 yards or farther away.
The 31-year-old kicker was in his first season with Washington. He has also kicked for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts.
In 100 career NFL games, Gay has made 84% of his field goals. He’s also connected on 96.6% of his extra points.
Gay, who was a Pro Bowler with the Rams in 2021, didn’t miss an extra point in Washington.
Commanders Release Struggling Matt Gay
As is often the case with NFL kickers, Gay’s misses usually came in situations where a made field goal could have resulted in a different outcome for Washington.
That was the case in Spain. In addition to not connecting at the end of regulation, Gay was no good from 51 yards in the middle of the second quarter against the Dolphins.
In Week 6 versus the Chicago Bears, Gay missed a 50-yarder just before halftime. Washington lost that game by one point.
Furthermore, Gay went 1-for-3 against the Green Bay Packers during Week 2. The Commanders fell in that matchup 27-18.
Gay was well on his way to setting a new career high in misses this season. His six misses in just 19 attempts tied his mark in that category last year when he had 37 attempts.
While Gay owns an 84% success rate on field goals in his career, he hasn’t been above that percentage since 2022. From 2020-22, Gay made 92.5% of his field goals.
He spent all three of those seasons with the Rams.
Commanders Add Kicker Jake Moody
To replace Gay, Washington signed Jake Moody off the Bears practice squad Monday.
Moody’s original team, the San Francisco 49ers, waived him after he went 1-for-3 in the 2025 season opener. But the 25-year-old signed with the Bears practice squad, and the team elevated him for two contests in October.
In those two games, Moody went 8-for-9 and made all three of his extra points. Moody connected on four of five attempts in the 25-24 victory against the Commanders.
Seeing that success first hand could be a reason behind Washington poached Moody off the Bears practice squad.
As a rookie in 2023, Moody led the NFL with 60 extra points made. He owns a 76.1% field goal percentage in 34 NFL games.
Saints Coach Erupts After Defensive Win vs. Panthers: “This Wasn’t Just a Victory — It Was a Statement.”
The aftermath of the Saints’ gritty 17‑7 victory over the Panthers took a fiery turn, as the Saints’ head coach delivered one of the most emotionally charged post‑game statements the NFL has seen this season. His words, delivered with raw intensity, weren’t simply about one play — but a full‑scale indictment of what he called a “broken standard” within the league.
The controversy stemmed, according to the coach, from a late hit he described as “deliberate, intentional, and completely outside the rules.” He believed the play crossed every line of sportsmanship the league claims to uphold.
“In all my years of coaching, I’ve never seen anything this blatant,” he said, visibly furious. “There’s a difference between going for the ball and going for the man. That wasn’t a football play — that was intent.”
He referenced what happened immediately after: the “words, the smirks, the attitude” from the opposing player. Though he refused to name names, he made it clear everyone in the locker room knew exactly who he meant.
But his frustration went far deeper than just one incident. He accused the league of inconsistent officiating, claiming certain teams enjoy an invisible layer of protection while others — like the Saints — are penalized or disadvantaged for even the smallest infractions.
“We are tired of these invisible lines,” he continued. “Week after week, dirty hits get brushed off as ‘incidental contact’ while we get punished for everything. You talk about integrity and fairness — but what we’re seeing is the opposite.”
By this point his tone shifted from anger to pure disappointment — disappointment in what he believes the sport is becoming.
“If this is what football has become — if your so‑called ‘standards’ are just a polished façade — then you’ve betrayed this sport,” he said. “And I will not stand by and watch my team fight — yes fight — under these conditions, while being forced to endure rules you don’t have the courage to enforce.”
The coach’s comments immediately sparked debate across social media, igniting strong reactions among fans, analysts and former players. Some praised him for speaking truth to power, calling him “the only coach brave enough to say what others whisper behind closed doors.” Others accused him of deflecting blame from his own roster’s performance and stirring controversy.
As the NFL prepares to review game film and officiating, one thing is certain: this moment will not fade quietly. With the Saints improving to 2‑8 on the season and still under major pressure, the league may find itself under brighter scrutiny.
And for New Orleans, this moment could become more than just another win — it might be the spark that ignites a larger conversation about fairness, enforcement, and the future of the team.
