Zane Gonzalez closed out the campaign with the Commanders, and his performance during that period has earned him an extended stay in the nation’s capital. The veteran kicker was re-signed on Thursday, per a team announcement.
Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post reports this will be a one-year deal worth the veteran minimum. As a result, Gonzalez will collect $1.17MM in 2025 to remain Washington’s kicker. The 29-year-old was added in November, and he made a combined nine regular and postseason appearances with his latest team.
An injury to Austin Seibert left the Commanders in need of a midseason addition, and Gonzalez filled in well enough to land a new deal. The latter connected on five of his seven field goal tries in the regular season, and went seven-for-eight during the playoffs. Gonzalez also made all of his extra point kicks. His FG accuracy has seen numerous swings over the course of his career, but overall it stands at 80%.
The Arizona state product was drafted by the Browns in 2017, but he made only 18 appearances with the team. Gonzalez then had a run of two-plus years with the Cardinals before enjoying his most accurate season in 2021 with Carolina. He did not see any regular season game action in 2022 or ’23, but his return to the fold in Washington will allow him to continue his career.
Seibert is a pending free agent, and today’s news is obviously a strong sign he will be heading elsewhere on the open market. Given the low-cost nature of this pact, though, the Commanders could certainly look to add training camp competition at the kicker spot sometime this offseason.