“This is malpractice” “Deebo Samuel ain’t gonna be happy”: NFL fans react as Commanders sign Jake Moody from Bears after cutting Matt Gay

The Washington Commanders have a new kicker, but not everyone is pleased with the decision.

On Monday, the NFC East franchise were announced to have signed Jake Moody off of the Chicago Bears' practice squad. He will replace Matt Gay, who was ditched after missing two field goal attempts, including a potential game-winner in regulation, in a 16-13 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins in Madrid on Sunday.

Head coach Dan Quinn reacted to the decision:

“(Gay is) an all-time good dude. So, really bummed that it didn’t work out. We just felt this is the change we needed. We’re just not making those kicks; not just the ones yesterday. We want to look at the big picture of things. At that position, the performance — got to have it.”

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Fan reaction was, to say the least, not warm:

Moody began the 2025 season as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, with whom he made the Super Bowl two years ago as a rookie. However, he continued his struggles from 2024 in the very first game at the Seattle Seahawks, making just one field goal in three tries in a 17-13 win.

He then joined the Bears in place of a then-injured Cairo Santos and made his debut, ironically enough, at the Commanders. There, he broke the franchise record for most field goals made at four, which included the game-winner as time expired. The following week against the New Orleans Saints, he was perfect in all his six kicks - two extra points and four field goals.

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A brief recap of Commanders' instability at kicker

In 2024, the Commanders underwent a massive revamp in Josh Harris' second year as owner. Adam Peters and Dan Quinn were hired to be general manager and head coach, and they immediately reconstructed the team.

The drafting of Jayden Daniels and an aggressive free agency spree that included Super Bowl champions Bobby Wagner and Zach Ertz were the headlines of that revamp, but what went underreported was a change at kicker.

Gone was Joey Slye, who had set the franchise record for longest field goal at 61 yards in 2023. The team initially tried to replace him with another Super Bowl champion in Brandon McManus, but he was cut after sexual misconduct allegations dating from when he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars emerged against him.

They hastily pivoted towards having Ramiz Ahmed and Riley Patterson compete for the job in the preseason, but both were ultimately released in favor of Cade York, who came in via trade from the Cleveland Browns.

York was ultimately ditched after missing two field goals in a season-opening loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was replaced by Austin Seibert, who most memorably accounted for all the Commanders' points in a 21-18 win against the New York Giants.

A hip injury in turn sidelined Seibert, and Zane Gonzalez stepped in (Greg Joseph also played one game in between). Memorably, Gonzalez would be the Commanders' kicker during their miraculous run to the NFC Championship Game, which began with a walk-off field goal at the Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round.

That secured him a one-year extension in the offseason, only for him to be ditched when Matt Gay became available after his release from Indianapolis.

Edited by Andre Castillo