daniel carlson
Getty
Daniel Carlson with Charles Grant.
The Las Vegas Raiders haven’t fielded a winning team in several seasons, but even when the team has been bad, the special teams have been mostly solid. Punter AJ Cole and kicker Daniel Carlson have both been named to All-Pro teams and were dependable in the past.
Unfortunately, Carlson showed signs of regression last season. The 81.5% field goal percentage was the worst since his rookie season. He was 29th in the NFL in field goal percentage.
With that in mind, the Raiders decided to sign Matt Gay in free agency, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. General manager John Spytek was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they drafted Gay in 2019.
He has played for five different franchises, won a Super Bowl and made a Pro Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. Gay only played in two games last season for the San Francisco 49ers and has 4-for-4 on field goal attempts. However, he also played 10 games with the Washington Commanders last season and was cut after only hitting 68.4% of his field goals.
Last season was a bit of an outlier for Gay, as he’s hit over 80% of his field goal attempts every season of his career. The Raiders just have to hope he’ll be an improvement over Carlson.
Carlson Officially Done in Las Vegas?
Carlson had to have known that his future wasn’t settled with the Raiders. During a rough patch early last season, the team brought in competition. He was able to get back on track, but that rough patch must’ve stuck with Spytek.
According to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, the Raiders have made the decision not to bring back Carlson.
“Source said Spytek and the new regime decided to move on from Daniel Carlson, hence the signing of Matt Gay,” McFadden wrote on X.
“Kolton Miller and AJ Cole are the only ones that remain from the Oakland days.”
Statistically, Carlson has been a better kicker over his career than Gay. The fact that the Raiders signed the latter likely means they could add a young kicker in the draft or as an undrafted free agent. There have been some kickers with massive legs coming into the NFL in recent years, so perhaps the Raiders want to find a kicker who can hit 60+ yard field goals.
Raiders Had Busy Start to Free Agency
The Raiders decided to come out swinging in free agency. The first big move was to sign center Tyler Linderbaum to a three-year contract. They also signed names like Kwity Paye, Quay Walker, Jalen Nailor and Nakobe Dean.
Las Vegas had the most salary cap space in the NFL, so they decided to spend it. It’s rare that the biggest spenders in free agency end up having success, but the New England Patriots just proved last season that being big spenders can work when you find the right talent.
Not every signing the Raiders made will work out, but they were able to find a number of upgrades across the roster, and they still have plenty of money to spend.