The Las Vegas Raiders will have a new kicker for the first time since 2018 as they moved away from free agent Daniel Carlson.
Early in free agency, the Raiders signed veteran Matt Gay with the idea of adding a young kicker for him to compete with in training camp. The Raiders identified that Gay competitor when they reportedly agreed to terms with Hawaii kicker Kansei Matsuzawa as an undrafted free agent.
So, while there will be many high-profile competitions for the Raiders in training camp, this cold be one of the more fun ones.
Matsuzawa is intriguing because of his backstory. Nicknamed the Tokyo Toe” because he is from Japan and he self taught himsekf how to kick by watching YouTube videos, Matsuzawa has ability.
Matsuzawa, 27, had 39 of 45 field-gaol attemtps in two seasons at Hawaii and he cnverted all 72 of his field-goal attempts. If he can display that type of accuracy in trianign cmap and in the preseoasn, he will be tough to beat.
Gay, 32, has sevens seasons of NFL experience and has played for new Las Vegas special teams coach Joe Decamillas. His experience will help in but expect the Raiders to give Matsuzawa a long look this summer.
