Daniel Carlson was a great kicker for the Las Vegas Raiders for many years. But with his contract expiring and his production steadily declining since 2020, John Spytek and Co. felt that they could find an upgrade, or at least someone just as good. That assumption was quickly proven wrong.
Las Vegas ended up signing veteran Matt Gay, who was drafted by Spytek and crossed paths with new special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis. It made a lot of sense. The problem is that Gay has been fairly erratic since 2022, and was downright shaky, at best, just last year.
Competition for Gay was clearly needed, so the Raiders brought in Kansei Matsuzawa after the draft. The Japanese-born kicker with an incredible story that actually begins with his love of the Silver and Black, affectionately dubbed "The Tokyo Toe," landed in Las Vegas as a UDFA.
As expected, he became a fan favorite. But is he really the solution at kicker for the Raiders, or is he just a feel-good story for the offseason? Based on reports from early in the offseason program, The Tokyo Toe is the real deal, and his leg seems to be stronger than most thought it was.
Fan favorite Kansei Matsuzawa, "The Tokyo Toe," is kicking well for Las Vegas Raiders
Matsuzawa was ultra-accurate in college as a Hawai'i Rainbow Warrior, making 25 of 26 field goals and all 37 extra point attempts as a senior. This led to him being a consensus All-American and the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year.
Not bad for a guy who taught himself how to kick by watching YouTube videos.
During Tuesday's mandatory minicamp practice, the Raiders' media finally got the chance to watch Matsuzawa kick for the first time this offseason. He lived up to his billing of having killer precision, according to Locked On Raiders host Q Myers.
“We actually got to see him at the end of practice, and he was kicking really well," Myers said. "They had a double goalpost up, so they had the original size goalpost, and then they had it brought in a little bit into the middle. So it's basically like kicking through both goalposts, just trying to get their accuracy down. And they lined them up one distance, boom, kick it through, back them up 10 more yards, boom, kick it through."
But a pressing question remained: How strong is his leg? Matsuzawa has pinpoint accuracy, but his career long of 52 yards pales in comparison to what modern NFL kickers can do, as 60-plus-yarders are old hat for some of the league's best. Myers gave fans exactly what they want to hear:
"He ended up kicking one from the 42-yard line. And you do the math, right? The 42-yard line, you add 18 yards onto it, boom, 60-yard kick. I don't know if it was quite 18 yards, but he had plenty of distance on it. So it's really a positive because I didn't expect to see much from the Tokyo Toe this year, his rookie year. But there might be a competition that's actually going to build up. Again, this is the first time we actually got to see him kicking. ... To see him actually close out the practice, it all caught our attention. He said, okay, well, he's kicking for some distance and has a pretty strong leg and looked to be pretty accurate. So that was a positive as well.”
Sounds like Matsuzawa isn't just a flash in the pan or a fan favorite with some leg strength limitations. If he's making field goals from 60 yards in practice, that is an incredible sign for the 27-year-old who is still new to the world of kicking and football.
To make the 53-man roster in Las Vegas, though, Matsuzawa can't just be a good kicker. He has to be the best kicker on the Raiders' roster, and he must take what he's done in practice and apply it in preseason games. And Gay isn't going away quietly, according to Raiders.com reporter Levi Edwards.
"Gay has an established relationship with DeCamillis after spending two seasons together on the Los Angeles Rams. The vet had a great showing during the situational special teams period, going 5-of-6 with a long field goal made for well over 50 yards near the end of practice."
And DeCamillis, obviously, isn't going to just hand The Tokyo Toe a job. When the veteran special teams coordinator spoke to the media on Wednesday, he talked about the dynamic between Gay and Matsuzawa, as well as how the kicker competition in heating up in Las Vegas.
"Well, first of all, I think when they came in, the good thing about having Matt (is that) I've been with him before, and Matt's really helped Special K quite a bit," DeCamillis said. "[Gay]'s done a good job as far as getting [Matsuzawa] squared away with some of his technique and some of that, which is great for an older guy to be able to do, especially when you're competing for the job. But the competition's been good. Hopefully, we can get Matt back on the same plane that he was when I had him in LA. And I think Special K is going to be really good, too, down the road. So, should be a hell of a competition."
Time will tell if Matsuzawa can make the Silver and Black's Week 1 roster. At the very least, he should stick around on the practice squad and have a chance to grow. But he's proving in the offseason that he's not just a gimmick or a fun story; Matsuzawa may very well have what it takes to be great.
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