The Washington Commanders lost their regular kicker Austin Seibert, requiring Zane Gonzalez to step in. Is Gonzalez set to kick again on Thursday night in Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles?
What Is Austin Seibert’s Injury?
Austin Seibert was off to a terrific start for the Commanders in 2024. Even after missing Week 10, Seibert leads the NFL with 25 field goals made entering Week 11. He is 93% (25-for-27) on field goals and a perfect 22-for-22 on extra points.
However, Seibert will miss his second game in a row with a hip injury. It’s not clear when he suffered the injury during the team’s Week 9 win over the New York Giants, but he has not practiced since.
In his place, the Commanders signed veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez from the practice squad and elevated him for the second straight week.
With kicker Austin Seibert dealing with a hip injury, the Commanders are promoting Zane Gonzalez from their practice squad to kick in tonight’s game vs. the Eagles. pic.twitter.com/at5orWjnNc
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 14, 2024
Gonzalez can be elevated one more time before he must be signed to the active roster or released.
However, the fact Seibert has not been placed on injured reserve suggests he will be back before Gonzalez runs out of elevations.
Who Is Zane Gonzalez?
Gonzalez is in his sixth NFL season but his first since 2021. Gonzalez has previously kicked for the Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, and Carolina Panthers in the NFL. His career seemed to be peaking 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.
He sought to catch on with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, but was again put on IR with an undisclosed injury and later released with an injury settlement. Gonzalez ended up spending all of 2023 out of football as a result.
This will be his second game with Washington after he kicked during the team’s Week 10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gonzalez made both of his field goal attempts and all three of his extra-point attempts in his Commanders debut.
Kicker is an important position for Washington, which has attempted a field goal on a league-high 28% of its drives entering Week 11. While Seibert will reassume the kicking duties when healthy, Gonzalez nailed his first audition and has a chance to earn another job with subsequent strong performances.