The Washington Commanders lost their regular kicker Austin Seibert, requiring Zane Gonzalez to step in. Ahead of the team’s Week 17 Sunday Night Football matchup, we review the Commanders’ kicking situation.
What Is Austin Seibert’s Injury?
Seibert was off to a terrific start for the Commanders in 2024. He led the NFL with 25 field goals made through Week 9 before suffering a hip injury against the New York Giants.
After missing two games, Seibert returned for the team’s Week 12 contest vs. the Dallas Cowboys. However, he missed a field goal and both extra-point attempts and was placed on injured reserve after the game.
Seibert will miss his fourth game in Week 17, which would fulfill his requirement for his injured reserve stint. However, there has been no word on Seibert’s condition or whether the Commanders plan to turn back to him in Week 18.
For the season, Seibert is 27-30 (90%) on field-goal attempts and 22-24 (91.7%) on point-after attempts.
Who Is Zane Gonzalez?
Gonzalez is in his sixth NFL season but his first since 2021. He has previously kicked for the Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, and Carolina Panthers. His career seemed to peak in 2021 with Carolina, as he hit 91% of his field goals that season over 12 games.
However, Gonzalez ended that season on injured reserve after suffering a quad injury during warmups, which became a recurrent problem. In the 2022 preseason, Gonzalez again hurt his quad in warmups and spent the entire season on injured reserve.
In 2023, he sought to catch on with the San Francisco 49ers but was again put on IR with an undisclosed injury and later released with an injury settlement. As a result, Gonzalez spent all of 2023 out of football.
This will be his fifth game with Washington, as he’s filled in during both of Seibert’s injury stints. Gonzalez has only attempted five field goals in his first four games with the Commanders, making three of them (60%). However, he has hit all 14 of his extra-point attempts.
Sunday night in Week 17 is a critical contest for the Commanders, who have a chance to clinch their first playoff berth since 2020.
Falcons at Commanders tonight
*Two rookie QBs Michael Penix Jr & Jayden Daniels*Falcons must win the next two games to clinch the NFC South. If Atlanta loses one of the games, Bucs can clinch the division over a win over the Saints.
*Commanders can clinch a playoff spot…
— Ron Carthen (@rcarthen) December 29, 2024
From Weeks 1-10, Washington attempted a field goal on a league-high 32.3% of its drives. But since Week 11, the Commanders have kicked a field goal on only 15.3% of their drives, the seventh-lowest rate in the league.