The Washington Commanders have re-signed kicker Zane Gonzalez, who took over the job after a series of injuries and roster moves and helped the team reach the NFC championship game, gaining some national attention along the way for playing with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The contract is for the 2025 NFL season and worth the league minimum salary of $1.17 million, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because financial terms were not disclosed.
Gonzalez went 7 for 8 on field goal attempts during the playoff run after going 5 of 7 during the regular season. That included the buzzer-beating, game-winning kick in the wild-card round at Tampa Bay that gave Washington its first playoff victory in nearly two decades.
"The organization is amazing, the coaching staff’s amazing," Gonzalez said in January about his time with the Commanders. "It’s just truly been awesome, and I’m just incredibly grateful for the whole organization, honestly, as a whole. Everybody here is truly, truly amazing people. They got something special going, and I’m just happy to be a part of it and do my little part.”
Gonzalez, who turns 30 in May, joined Washington in November when kicker Austin Seibert was dealing with a hamstring injury. Seibert subsequently went down with a groin injury, and Gonzalez played all but one game the rest of the way.
On his fourth organization since debuting in the league in 2017, Gonzalez was a perfect 27 of 27 on extra points and earned praise from coach Dan Quinn, who called him “a true pro,” and teammates for how he handled every situation with ease.
“He’s about as low maintenance as they come in terms of he just has such a great attitude when he’s kicking,” holder and punter Tress Way said. “There’s times I’ll ask him, I’m like, ‘What’d you think on the hold there?’ And he’s like, 'I don’t even remember. Once it’s down, we’re rolling.' It’s fun to play with a guy like that and to be working with a guy like that, and somebody who truly means it. He just trusts (long snapper Tyler Ott) and I to get everything ready, and he has just a great attitude and a great mentality for it.”
Gonzalez went viral when TV cameras caught him adjusting and readjusting a sock and putting his fingers through his hair multiple times before kicking the 37-yarder to beat the Buccaneers in prime time. He opened up about his OCD a few days later, hoping his story could assist others.
“There’s all sorts of people that walk through life dealing with struggles on a day-to-day (basis), and a lot of it’s at home that people don’t see: For example, like last night resetting my alarm about 100 times making sure it’s OK kind of gets on my wife’s nerves a little bit, but at times it’s just kind of how it goes,” Gonzalez said. "Just hearing other people’s stories and stuff that they deal with along those lines, it’s always interesting to hear, and it’s been pretty neat to see the community come together and just kind of helping you out a little bit.”
Gonzalez is the only kicker currently on the roster with free agency set to open next week. The Commanders have already agreed to one big move on offense to help Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback Jayden Daniels, getting wide receiver Deebo Samuel from San Francisco for a fifth-round pick.
General manager Adam Peters still has more than $60 million in cap space to work with, and questions remain about whether Washington will bring back some important free agent veterans like tight end Zach Ertz and six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
