The Las Vegas Raiders are bolstering their kicker position right after the 2026 NFL Draft, as they have signed former Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors kicker Kansei Matsuzawa as an undrafted free agent.
On April 25, the University of Hawai’i officially announced that its former kicker would be heading to Las Vegas as he begins his professional career. Matsuzawa will look to challenge veteran Matt Gay for the starting place kicker job as the Raiders made a major decision on the position.
The Tokyo Toe is headed to the @Raiders as an undrafted free agent!
@kan08sei x #BowsInThePros
This offseason, the Raiders decided to move on from long-time kicker Daniel Carlson, opting to sign Gay instead. Nonetheless, it appears the veteran will have to earn the job and beat Matsuzawa, who has the nickname of “Tokyo Toe.”
Matsuzawa kicked for two seasons with the Rainbow Warriors, going 39 for 45 on attempted field goals and recording an 86.7 field goal percentage, per Sports Reference. Moreover, he went 72-for-72 on his extra point attempts.
It’s also a full-circle moment, given that it was Matsuzawa watching a Raiders game at the Oakland Coliseum in 2018 that inspired him to become an NFL player, and the route he needed to take was through the kicker position.
“I came to the United States by myself and traveled on the West Coast, and I watched my first NFL game in Oakland,” Matsuzawa said during an April 3 appearance on “Good Morning Football Overtime.” “Then I really loved it, and I’m like, ‘I want to do this. This is going to be my life.'”
Kansei Matsuzawa Credits YouTube for Helping Him
Moreover, Matsuzawa explained how he learned to be a kicker in football through YouTube and by learning from a Super Bowl champion.
“I didn’t have a coach at the time, and I wanted to learn from the best, which is NFL kickers,” Matsuzawa added. “So YouTube was a great resource for me, and that’s how I started kicking. I watched a lot of NFL kickers, like [Seattle Seahawks’] Jason Myers.”
Nonetheless, the 27-year-old turned his dream of playing in the NFL into a reality after earning recognition during his time with the Rainbow Warriors.
Raiders Bolster RB Position on Day 3
The Raiders had a busy Day 3 at the 2026 NFL Draft as they bolstered the running back room after taking former Arkansas Razorbacks star Mike Washington Jr. in the fourth round, 122nd overall.
Las Vegas has Ashton Jeanty, whom they took in the Top 10 of the 2025 NFL Draft. Nonetheless, it’s clear that new Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak wants a dual running attack to mirror what he had with the Seattle Seahawks in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.
After the Raiders made the pick, Washington spoke with the local media in Vegas and shared his thoughts on being Jeanty’s partner in the running game this upcoming 2026 season.
“I’m super excited to get rolling with him,“ Washington said on April 25. “All I could think of is thunder and lightning, so I’m super excited to be the one-two punch with him and to really, like I said before, be a sponge and learn from him at the same time.”
Raiders Sign ‘Tokyo Toe’ to Challenge Matt Gay for Kicker Job