Raiders settle kicker competition: Matt Gay is set, Kansei Matsuzawa waived

The Las Vegas Raiders’ kicking competition has ended, at least for roster-building purposes. According to Yahoo Sports, the team has waived undrafted rookie kicker Kansei Matsuzawa, leaving veteran Matt Gay as the kicker heading into the regular season.

For an NFL team, the kicker spot is both narrow and consequential. Unlike most positions, a kicker does not rotate through different roles to show versatility. Instead, the job becomes a binary decision, grounded in reliability and performance in games that count. That is why a late roster move often matters as much for roster logic as it does for the final depth chart.

Matsuzawa’s waiver also clarifies how the Raiders evaluated their offseason investment at the position. An undrafted rookie earning reps indicates the coaching staff saw enough to test the leg on a pro timeline. When the team chooses to move on, it typically means the incumbent or another option has separated from the rest in consistency, command of the position, or ability to handle game-day pressure.

For Matt Gay, the development is straightforward. The Raiders are not just naming a kicker; they are putting responsibility on a proven veteran as the regular season approaches. That comes with an expectation of weekly production, where even minor misses can swing field position and scoring outcomes. Gay’s status also simplifies game-week planning for the Raiders’ special teams units, because snap and holder coordination can be built around one primary kicker rather than continually re-optimized.

The Raiders’ decision leaves Matsuzawa with the next-step question faced by many young kickers after a waiver: whether another team sees enough in workouts or preseason performances to give him a role elsewhere. Waived kickers can be claimed, signed to a practice-squad, or wait for an opening driven by form or health. The point for Las Vegas is that the position is now settled, while Matsuzawa’s path depends on how other clubs value his developmental runway.

What remains to watch for the Raiders is not whether a competition exists, but how execution holds up. Kickers are often evaluated as much by the makeable range and hold consistency as by the highlight kicks. For Las Vegas, the most important follow-up will be how the offense and coaching staff shape third downs and red-zone drives, since the easiest field-goal opportunities often reflect the team’s ability to convert earlier.

In the short term, the kicking position will likely return to routine, with Gay taking the lead role and the staff moving attention to other roster needs. Over the longer term, though, the Raiders still need to think like a team that cannot assume perfect outcomes every week. Even when the starter is locked in, depth and contingency planning for field conditions, holder timing, and sudden roster changes are part of the same job description.

Overall, the waiver decision marks a clean pivot for Las Vegas. The Raiders have chosen their primary kicker, and the story for this unit shifts from “can the rookie win it” to “can the veteran deliver week after week,” which is where kicking jobs ultimately get judged.