Matthew Wright (born March 22, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

who is a free agent. Wright is known for breaking the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

' 20-game losing streak, when he scored two fourth quarter

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

s, including a game-winning 53 yarder in an

NFL International Series The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League (NFL) NFL regular season, regular season that are List of National Football League games played outside the United States, played outside th ...

game against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Wright played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at UCF where he was a member of the undefeated 2017 team that was selected as National Champions by the

Colley Matrix The Colley Matrix is a computer-generated sports rating system designed by Dr. Wesley Colley. It is one of more than 40 polls, rankings, and formulas recognized by the NCAA in its list of national champion selectors in college football.

High school career

Wright attended

Lampeter-Strasburg High School Lampeter-Strasburg High School is a public secondary school in the Lampeter-Strasburg School District, located in Lampeter, Pennsylvania, United States. Education Languages L-S High School offers Chinese, German, and Spanish. Each course include ...

Lampeter, Pennsylvania Lampeter is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,669. It is a suburb of Lancaster and has a ZIP c ...

. As the placekicker on Lampeter-Strasburg's football team, Wright finished his high school kicking career making 15 of 18 attempted kicks, including 9 of 11 as a senior, with a high school career-long of 42 yards. He also converted 122 of 126 extra point kicks in his high school career. Wright was named to the Pennsylvania Football News Class AAA First-team and a Section Two First-team All-Star (as a punter and placekicker). Coming out of high school, Wright was a three-star college kicking prospect and the #46 kicker nationally as ranked by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Wright also played high school soccer, earning Lancaster Newspaper's Fall All-Star honors.

College career

Wright holds the

UCF Knights Football The UCF Knights football team represents the University of Central Florida (UCF) in the sport of American football. The Knights compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) an ...

records for most career points (375), most field goals made (55), most extra points (PATs), (212, including 153 consecutive made PATs), tied for the best career kicking percentage (.774), and second-best career PAT percentage (.985). Wright was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his true freshman season before going on to be the Knights primary placekicker for the next four seasons. In 2014, as a true freshman, Wright earned

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

All-Academic Team honors. In 2015, as a redshirt freshman, Wright made 13 of 17 field goal attempts (.765) with a long of 48 yards while recording one tackle. In 2016, as a redshirt sophomore, Wright became one of just 11 Knights ever to make a 50-yard field goal attempt. Making 17 of 22 field goal attempts (.772) (50-yard long) during the 2016 season, Wright's .773 kicking percentage placed seventh all-time in UCF football history for single season kick percentage. Wright was named to the 2016-17 American All-Academic Team. Entering his redshirt junior season in 2017, Wright was named to the

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns player Lou Groza. It has be ...

preseason watch list (best placekicker in college football). Wright also handled kickoff specialist duties during the 2017 season. Following Wright's performance against the

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Wright was named the American Special Teams Player of the Week. In the Knights' game versus Austin Peay, Wright set the UCF single-game extra points record (10). On January 1, 2018, Wright made two field goals against the

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

in the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially re ...

as the Knights finished their season 13-0. After the victory, the school announced they would claim a National Championship despite not making the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...

and never being ranked higher than 10th. Wright finished the 2017 season making 13 of 18 field goal attempts (.722) with a long of 47 yards. With his 2017 season performance, Wright set the UCF Knights single-season record for most kicking points scored (119), the second-most points scored in a season, and the most extra points in a season (80). Wright earned Second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors. In 2018, Wright again served as both UCF's placekicker and kickoff specialist. In back-to-back weeks following the Knights' games against Memphis and

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

, Wright was named the American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Wright finished the season converting 12 of 14 field goal attempts (.857) with a long of 46 yards. In successfully converting all 74 PATs, Wright became only the eighth player in UCF program history to make every PAT in a season. Wright ended the season with a 58.3-yard kickoff average, including 29 touchbacks, with two tackles and a fumble recovery. Wright earned American Athletic Conference Second-team honors for his 2018 senior kicking efforts. Wright also earned the University of Central Florida's most prestigious honor, the Order of the Pegasus Award, for exemplary performance in "academic achievement, outstanding university involvement, leadership, and community service." After graduating, Wright signed wit
GatNation, LLC
who represented him as sports agents from March 2019 through July 2023.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

Wright was signed by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

following the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

. He was waived on August 31, 2019, during final roster cuts.

Tampa Bay Vipers

On October 16, 2019, Wright was selected by the

Tampa Bay Vipers The Vegas Vipers are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. The team began operation ...

in Phase 5 of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. On January 22, 2020, he was released during training camp.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

On November 30, 2020, Wright was re-signed by the Steelers to their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was elevated to the active roster on December 7, December 26, and January 2, 2021, for the team's weeks 13, 16, and 17 games against the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. Wright was two-of-two on extra points against Washington, and made his first career field goal from 37 yards out. Wright finished the season having made all four of his field goal attempts, including a long of 46 yards, and all seven extra point attempts. On January 18, 2021, following the season, Wright's practice squad contract with the team expired.

Detroit Lions

On January 22, 2021, the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

signed Wright to a reserve/futures contract. On August 10, 2021, the Lions waived Wright.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On September 27, 2021, Wright was signed to the

practice squad. On October 16, 2021, he was signed to the Jaguars' active roster. On October 10, 2021, Wright got his first start in the Jaguars' Week 5 game against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. He went 0/1, missing a 53-yard

and 1/2 on extra points. On October 17, 2021, in an

game played in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

against the

, Wright went 3/3 on field goals, including a career-long 54-yard

and a game-winning 53-yard

that snapped the Jaguars' 20-game

losing streak ''Losing Streak'' is the second studio album by ska punk band Less Than Jake, released on November 12, 1996 on Capitol Records. The album was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida and Mirror Image Studios in Gainesville, Florida, bo ...

and gave them their first win since September 13, 2020. For his performance he was awarded AFC Special Teams Player Of The Week. On October 19, 2021, Wright was named the starter going forward as Jacksonville cut former starter,

Josh Lambo Joshua Gregory Lambo (born November 19, 1990) is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2015 and then signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 17, 2017. H ...

, from their roster. On May 11, 2022, Wright was waived.

Kansas City Chiefs

Wright was signed to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

' practice squad on September 27, 2022. He was elevated to the active roster on October 1, 2022, and then reverted back to the practice squad after the game. He was elevated again on October 10, 2022. In the Chiefs' week 5 game against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

, he broke what was at the time the Chiefs' franchise record for longest field goal with a 59-yard field goal.

Pittsburgh Steelers (third stint)

On November 9, 2022, Wright was signed by the

off the Chiefs practice squad. He was released on December 10, 2022.

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

Wright was signed to the

practice squad on January 6, 2023. That same day, he was elevated to the active roster via a standard elevation. However, he did not play and was inactive for the Chiefs week 18 game against the

. He was released on January 30, 2023.

Carolina Panthers

On August 8, 2023, Wright signed with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. He was waived on August 26, 2023.

San Francisco 49ers

On September 4, 2023, Wright was signed to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

practice squad, but released five days later.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

As a senior at UCF, Wright worked as an

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

intern at

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

. Following his graduation from UCF in December 2018, Lockheed Martin offered Wright a full-time job with the company, which Wright accepted and worked until September 2021.

References

External links

UCF Knights bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Matthew 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Lancaster, Pennsylvania American football placekickers UCF Knights football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Tampa Bay Vipers players Detroit Lions players Jacksonville Jaguars players Kansas City Chiefs players Carolina Panthers players San Francisco 49ers players