INDIANAPOLIS – A nagging pain has threatened one kicker’s availability for the Indianapolis Colts’ season opener and brought another “full circle.’’
Spencer Shrader is back home after being signed to the practice squad last week, but the overriding issue is the reason the Westfield native was chatting with the media Wednesday afternoon.
That would be Matt Gay being in rehab mode after undergoing hernia surgery last week. The veteran kicker did not participate Wednesday as the Colts ramped up preparations for Sunday’s meeting with the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium and he offered no timetable for his return.
“Working through it. Dealing with it,’’ Gay said. “I obviously want to get on the field and I want to be back as soon as possible. Just doing my rehab, being diligent, taking care of what I can take care of.
“I don’t have a timeframe. I’m just taking it day-by-day. Obviously, I want to be out there. I don’t like missing anything.’’
Gay insisted he enjoyed an uneventful offseason, training camp and preseason even though he uncharacteristically missed three of his four field-goal attempts in two preseason games.
But the week after the Aug. 22 preseason game in Cincinnati, Gay said he felt pain in his groin that persisted. He has no idea how the injury occurred.
“Just kind of a weird, fluke thing,’’ Gay said. “One day it popped up and nagged me for a couple of days.
“Pretty good amount of pain. I did try to kick with it and work through it, but it nagged me.’’
Team physicians checked it out and determined surgery was necessary.
That chain of events eventfully included Shrader.
The Colts signed the Notre Dame product as an undrafted rookie in May, then released him Aug. 27 when active rosters were cut to 53.
That coincided with Gay’s injury situation, so the team re-signed Shrader to the practice squad Aug. 29.
The Colts had given Shrader no indication they had plans of signing him to the practice squad.
“No, (but) there’s always opportunity,’’ he said. “I loved it around this building so I had left on really good terms. You want to preserve those relationships for the future.
“You know there’s an opportunity you’ll come back at some point. I didn’t know it was going to be the day after.’’
While Gay suffered through a difficult preseason – after hitting a 35-yarder, he was wide left from 54, 53 and 44 – Shrader made the most of his limited opportunities. He converted all four PATs along with 56- and 41-yard field goals against the Bengals.
Gay’s advice for Shrader if he’s thrust onto the pressurized season-opening stage?
“Enjoy it. He’s ready,’’ Gay said. “Obviously he showed this preseason that he’s primed for this opportunity. He’s got all the talent in the world. He’s got a good head on his shoulders and I couldn’t be more excited for him if he gets to go out there.
“I have no level of doubt in my mind he’ll go out there and he’ll do his thing and he’ll be successful.’’
It’s critical for coach Shane Steichen to have unwavering confidence in his kicker. If the situation against the Texans calls for a 50-yard field-goal attempt, he must trust his rookie.
“They called me back here,’’ Shrader said. “People are confident in my abilities and I’m confident in myself.’’
While he’s preparing as if he’ll handle the Colts’ kicking on Sunday, Shrader took a few moments to consider the circuitous route he’s traveled.
He was born in Westfield and spent 12 years in central Indiana before the family first moved to Austin, Tex., then Tampa, Fla.
“Family and friends are here,’’ he said. “We created a family here. It’s come full circle.
“You’ve got to be open to opportunities and you’ve got to understand it’s going to be an adventure that’s going to have it’s ups and downs. So, the main thing is to just enjoy every single day and just trying to maximize the time that you do have.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.