The Commanders probably regret one offseason move at an uncertain position after his recent performance
Adam Peters could’ve saved money and many headaches this season.
The Washington Commanders are on a bye week for Week 12, so that means stress-free football before the team comes back for the final stretch of the season.
Head coach Dan Quinn wasted no time kicking off the bye week with some big news by releasing veteran kicker Matt Gay. The Commanders would respond by signing former third-round pick Jake Moody to see if he’s the answer for the rest of the year, and hopefully next.
The kicker position has haunted the Commanders for two seasons now, and they probably should’ve stuck with Zane Gonzalez, who just had a big game with the Atlanta Falcons.
Zane Gonzalez was lights out in his Falcons debut
I know we can say this about a lot of other players the Commanders let go, but releasing Gonzales didn’t make too much sense, especially when Adam Peters’ next move was a costly one. The Commanders gave Gay the biggest one-year fully guaranteed contract for a kicker ever, and he was a disaster. Fast forward to now, the Commanders are still trying to figure the position out, and Gonzales had a heck of a game for the Falcons.
The Falcons signed Gonzalez on Nov. 4th, and he hasn’t missed a kick for them yet. He’s now 6-6 through three games, including 56 and 54-yard makes against the New Orleans Saints. Gay went 4-9 on field goal attempts from 50 yards and beyond, and Gonzales is already 3-3 from the same distance.
The Commanders could’ve brought Gonzalez back for much cheaper than Gay, and who knows what the results would’ve been, but it couldn’t have been worse than what we saw this season. Now the next chapter starts, and they can only pray they got it right.
The Commanders need Jake Moody to be the answer
Releasing Gay was absolutely the right call, with the bye week giving them time, but now is the stressful part, trying a new kicker. Moody was a third-round pick with the 49ers when Peters was still there. He’s a young option with a lot of upside, and he showed a lot of promise in his short stint with the Chicago Bears this season, including the game-winner against the Commanders.
The Commanders have six more games left this season to let Moody audition to be the starter next season, which is the best-case scenario. If Moody doesn’t work out, then they likely release him at the end of the season and try again in the always revolving pool of kickers around the league.
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