WESTFIELD, Ind. — The Colts have preached competition at as many positions as they can create it this season.
Kicker has been no exception.
The battle between Spencer Shrader and Maddux Trujillo has started at the Grand Park Sports Complex. The winner among these undrafted free agents will not only make the roster but be the man tasked with replacing Matt Gay, who was once given the biggest contract to a free agent kicker in history before Indianapolis cut him to save money this offseason.
“Truly an open competition,” special teams coordinator Brian Mason said.
Shrader and Trujillo traded off field goal attempts for the first time in Friday’s practice. The results, as to be expected, were mixed.
Shrader made four of six attempts, connecting from distances of 33, 37, 41 and 45 yards before missing the two long kicks, both from 53 yards.
Trujillo made three of six attempts from the same distances, connecting from 33, 37 and 45 yards and missing from 41, 53 and 53 yards.
This is just the beginning of a competition that will span across weeks of training camp, two joint practices and three preseason games.
“We’re trying to get those guys equal reps as much as we possibly can early on to see who can kind of take hold of that competition,” Mason said. “There is really no timetable on that, but that’s something we’ll work on as we go throughout training camp to see who kind of takes the lead.”
This is Trujillo’s first training camp after he went undrafted this spring out of Temple. He’s known for the sheer power of his leg, which allowed him to connect on a 64-yard field goal last season, the longest make the NCAA has seen in more than 35 years.
Accuracy is more of his challenge, and that came through in the two misses from 50-plus yards in Friday’s practice.
Shrader bounced on and off the Colts’ roster for much of last season while Gay battled a pair of injuries. He wound up playing for the Chiefs and Jets and connecting on each of his five field goal attempts as well as all nine extra points.
Shrader came upon Mason’s radar back when the Colts coordinator recruited him to Notre Dame before the 2023 season.
Now, the winner of the competition can take the reigns from a Pro Bowler who never quite hit that consistency in Indianapolis.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts’ kicker competition off to an uneven start between Spencer Shrader, Maddux Trujillo
Reporting by Nate Atkins, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
