SANTA CLARA — Matt Gay is the only player in the NFL to kick the 49ers out of the Super Bowl and lose his job to Jake Moody.
Gay, signed to the 49ers’ practice squad Wednesday, will take over for Eddy Piñeiro when the 49ers (7-4) host the Carolina Panthers (6-5) Monday night (ESPN, 5:15 p.m.) as both teams look to stay in the playoff race in Week 12.
He has no illusions about keeping the job long-term.
“Kickers are a fraternity,” Gay said Thursday. “You keep in touch with guys, you follow their career. Seeing (Eddy) and talking to him, it’s been great to catch up. He’s had a great year here . . . God has plans. He’s blessed me with an opportunity to come here and kick for however many games that may be until Eddy’s back.”
Gay, 31, has experienced the highs and lows that come with the job since becoming a fifth-round draft pick out of Utah in 2018 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He won the Lou Groza Award as the college football’s top place kicker in 2017.
His pro debut was against the 49ers in 2019 but was cut in training camp the following year and spent part of 2020 on the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts before being signed by the Rams. He had the best year of his career in 2021, converting 32 of 34 field goal attempts as Los Angeles won the NFC West and went on to win the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 49ers, on the strength of wins over Green Bay and Dallas, advanced to the NFC Championship Game in Los Angeles. Although they beat the Rams twice in the regular season, the wild-card 49ers lost 20-17 in the title game.
Trailing 17-7, the Rams got within 17-14 and then went ahead on 40- and 34-yard field goals by Gay to win the championship. Gay also had a 41-yard field goal in a 23-20 win over Cincinnati in the Super Bowl.
“Shhh . . . keep it down,” Gay said in jest. “It’s crazy, all right? You’re in L.A. and we’re rivals for so long and used to playing against them. Now you’re on their team. It’s different to look back a couple of years ago, playing that game and kicking them out. Now I’m Team 49ers. I’m wearing the red jersey and just want to do what I can do to help this team win.”
Gay’s nomadic existence didn’t stop there. Indianapolis signed Gay to a restricted free agent contract (four years, $22.5 million maximum) that was the largest for a place kicker at the time. He was the first kicker to ever kick four field goals of 50 or more yards in the same game, hitting from 54, 53, 53 and 53 yards for Indianapolis in 2023 and stayed there through 2024, when he was released.
Next up was Washington, but Gay struggled. He was 13-for-19 and after misses from 51 and 56 yards in a 16-13 overtime loss to Miami in Madrid, Spain. Nevertheless, Gay was surprised as he was on his way home to Utah to decompress during the Commanders’ bye week.
“I was headed home, got a call at the airport, so it was kind of abrupt,” Gay said. “I didn’t really see it coming.”
The kicker?
Washington signed Moody — Public Enemy No. 1 by the 49ers’ fan base until he was released in favor of Piñeiro — to take Gay’s place. Gay won the 49ers’ job in a tryout that also included Anders Carlson, John Parker Romo, Tanner Brown and Cade York.
Gay was signed to the practice squad, but will be a standard promotion for the game against the Panthers Monday night. If necessary, he can stay on the practice squad and be activated three times for games before he must be on the 53-man roster.
Asked what was the determining factor, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said, “His experience. He’s had a lot of success in this league and looked real good during our workout.”
Piñeiro quickly became a favorite of fans and players, in small part because of his exuberant personality but mostly because he was 22-for-22 on field goal attempts, including 6-for-6 from 50 yards and beyond. He was so good kicking field goals and was such a factor in winning games it was easy to overlook an 18-for-22 rate (two of which were blocked) on point-after-touchdown opportunities.
Gay was still getting his bearings after flying home from Madrid to Utah, and then Utah to the Bay Area and said he’s comfortable at Levi’s, where in Rams’ regular-season losses in 2021 and 2022, he converted moderately distanced field goal attempts of 37, 39, 29 and 26 yards without a miss.
“There’s definitely a swirling wind that happens at Levi’s and I’ve been fortunate enough to play here a couple of times, so I’ve been able to figure it out,” Gay said. “I think the best teacher is other people — you watch Robbie Gould, who kicked here for a long time, and he figured the stadium out. But kicking is kicking and you get there on game day and figure it out.”
It’s been a whirlwind since leaving Spain, finding out he didn’t have a job and then finding another one.
“It’s been a lot of travel but I’m blessed and grateful to have this opportunity,” Gay said. “The uprights are the same wherever you go. I’ve kicked a lot of balls, feel comfortable with myself going out there and being able to perform. It helps when you’ve got a veteran group like (long-snapper) Jon Weeks and (holder) Thomas Morstead, who are established with the operation. I’ve kicked in that stadium before and I feel good coming in.”