INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts have a clear front-runner to be the team’s starting kicker in the season opener against the Dolphins.
For all intents and purposes, it’s Spencer Shrader‘s job to lose.
Shrader, the Notre Dame product the Colts brought back this offseason after discovering him as an undrafted rookie a year ago, has been much more consistent than undrafted rookie Maddux Trujillo through the first three weeks of training camp.
“He certainly has the leg up in this competition,” special teams coordinator Brian Mason said. “Spencer will start to get a bulk of the load as we move forward today. He had the majority of kicks today in practice; he will be the starting kicker, and the only kicker that will kick this weekend on Saturday against the Packers.”
Shrader has made 87% of his kicks so far; Trujillo has made 78%.
The second-year kicker made field goals of 53, 33 and 39 yards in the first half against Baltimore, but he missed a 52-yard field goal at the end of the first half that he bounced off the left upright.
“He’s just got to continue to get comfortable,’ Mason said. “In the joint practice, he had a 56-yarder that he slightly pulled to the left. In the game, he had a 52-yarder he slightly pulled to the left, so it’s just understanding the different situations and how to play the ball so we’re not pulling it to the left, which is the issue that’s come up of late.”
Trujillo, an undrafted free agent the Colts signed out of Temple, got off to a fast start in the summer.
But he has struggled through the first two weeks, missing on both sides of the uprights, and the door opened for Shrader to take the job.
“Obviously, we’ll reassess after the Packers game, but Maddux will get an opportunity to be able to get some film out there and show what he can do in the last game,” Mason said.
Shrader has the experience of kicking in the NFL before.
An injury to former kicker Matt Gay led to Shrader kicking in the season opener a year ago. Weeks later, Shrader got signed to a spot start by the Jets, and he made both of his field-goal attempts for New York. Two weeks later, Shrader was signed for another spot start by the Chiefs, and he made three field goals, including the game-winner, against the Panthers.
“I think he’s kicking better in training camp than he was in OTAs, I think he’s kicking better in Week 3 than he was in Week One,” Mason said. “Obviously, any time you have a new starting kicker, there’s going to be some bumps in the road, but I think he’s getting more comfortable.”
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