Who Should I Start? Matt Gay or Rodrigo Blankenship

Saturday, December 23, 12:21 AM

Indianapolis Colts kicker Matt Gay (hip) will not carry a designation into the Week 16 game against the Atlanta Falcons. Gay missed Wednesday's practice, then logged a limited session on Thursday, and on Friday was able to participate in full, per the team's official injury report. On the season, Gay has gone 26-for-33 on field goal attempts and has converted 32 of his 33 extra-point tries. Five of his misses (including the whiffed PAT) have come in the four games since the Colts' Week 11 bye, but Gay saw enough success in the same timeframe to finish as a top-10 kicker three times. On the season he has been a top-10 option nine times and can be counted on for another strong finish on Sunday in the neutral conditions of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Monday, August 21, 6:14 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived kicker Rodrigo Blankenship on Monday. Blankenship lost the kicking battle to Chase McLaughlin in training camp this summer and will now look to latch on with another team before the start of the 2023 regular season. The 26-year-old spent last year with the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals, going 4-for-5 on his field-goal tries and 4-for-5 on extra points in just three total games. As long as Tampa doesn't bring in more competition for McLaughlin to close out the preseason, he should enter Week 1 as the team's starting kicker. McLaughlin, 27, made 83.3 percent of his 36 field-goal attempts and made all 21 of his extra-point tries in 16 games with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022. The kicking position in Tampa won't be as exciting in fantasy now that Tom Brady isn't running the offense in 2023.