The Las Vegas Raiders‘ kicker competition has produced an unexpected camp favorite. Here’s the story behind “The Tokyo Toe” and why fans are paying attention.
Every Raiders training camp features its standout storylines. This year, the focus is on the quarterback and offensive line. However, hidden within the special teams is a competition that may be the most intriguing in Henderson: veteran kicker Matt Gay is facing off against undrafted rookie Kansei Matsuzawa for the starting kicker position.
Yes, we’re talking kickers. Deal with it.
Daniel Carlson, the Raiders’ kicker since 2018, wasn’t re-signed. For the first time in nearly a decade, Las Vegas doesn’t have an incumbent locked in. That alone makes this camp different, but the players competing for the job make it must-watch.
Gay spent his best NFL seasons kicking for new Raiders special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis in Los Angeles, where he made a Pro Bowl in 2021. General manager John Spytek was in the Buccaneers’ front office when Gay entered the league as a fifth-round pick. That familiarity gives Gay a real edge on paper. It doesn’t guarantee anything on the field, especially after a rougher 2025 season in which he made under 74% of his field goals.
Kansei Matsuzawa’s path to the Raiders is unlike anyone else’s on the roster…
He taught himself to kick by watching YouTube videos after attending a Raiders game in Oakland back in 2018. No scholarship offers, no traditional recruiting path. He went on to become a consensus All-American at Hawaii before signing with Las Vegas as an undrafted free agent. Teammates call him “Special K.” It’s the kind of backstory that tends to find an audience well beyond Raider Nation.
DeCamillis has taken a hands-on role mentoring both kickers this offseason. He’s said Gay has helped Matsuzawa refine his technique, and he’s called the competition a strong one worth watching play out. That’s not the language of a coach who’s already made up his mind.
Long field goals are being made at a higher rate across the NFL than ever before, which makes leg strength on 50-plus-yard attempts a real factor in this battle. Gay connected on 4 of 5 such attempts in 2021, his best season. How Matsuzawa handles that range in preseason games may end up mattering as much as accuracy inside 40 yards.
Raiders Camp: Everything to know about the right guard competition
Final words…
Most reporting so far points toward Gay winning the job, and the built-in trust between him, DeCamillis and Spytek makes that the likely outcome. But this isn’t a competition being staged for show.
Matsuzawa has real ability, a coach willing to develop him and a story that will follow him regardless of how camp shakes out. If he pushes Gay into the preseason and forces the Raiders to make a genuinely hard call, that’s a win for the roster and a great story either way.
*Top Photo: Hawaii Sports Radio Network