Brian Mason's first regular-season press conference doubled as a fantasy edit: he confirmed Schrader as the Colts' starting kicker and cleared the only remaining medical caveat. Schrader is "as close to 100% as you can get" from a kicking standpoint. With Indianapolis sitting at +3.5 at DraftKings, the setup is there for a kicker with a live leg — the last open question was the leg itself. Mason just closed it.
The injury tag is gone; project the 2025 version.
Mason: "He's as close to 100% as you can get."
What that means: after an 11-month recovery from what Mason called a "really big injury" that was "more difficult than he even anticipated," Schrader has graduated from patient to routine maintenance. Mason noted that Schrader was in the building on an off day working through the standard specialist checklist — massage, dry needling, tubs, stretching. That's the weekly rhythm of every veteran kicker, not the protocol of someone still protecting a surgical site.
The fantasy implication: stop discounting the 2025 sample. Over five games last season, Schrader went 13-of-14 (92.9%). Anyone ranking him down for "injury uncertainty" is operating on stale information. The medical file is closed.
The 60-yard makes are a usage tell, not a camp anecdote.
Mason: "He had another really good preseason game, making from 60."
Mason was asked directly whether Schrader's one wide-left miss was mechanical. His answer was yes — residue of not kicking in a live operation for 10 months. That he then volunteered the 60-yard makes unprompted is the meaningful part. This is a coordinator telling his play-callers and his kicker that long-range attempts are acceptable outcomes. Indianapolis no longer needs to reach the red zone for Schrader to score.
The betting implication: the Colts are +3.5 underdogs at DraftKings. Market expectations point to a close game where drives stall around midfield — the exact zone where a 55-to-60-yard leg converts a would-be punt into points. That's the profile of a high-floor kicker for Week 1.
He won the job over a kicker who never missed.
Mason: "It was the hardest conversation in my coaching career."
The kicker Schrader replaced made "every single kick last season," per Mason — and still lost the job. Mason described two kickers "both deserving" and chose Schrader after he finished camp "at a really high level" in joint practices and hit everything in preseason. This wasn't a default. The team picked the younger leg with more range over a perfect-season veteran, which tells you how much confidence they have in Schrader's trajectory.
Mason also flagged Schrader's emotional flatline when told he had won — "he didn't even really hear like a lot of excitement." In kicking terms, that's a scouting report: no highs, no lows, no spiraling after a miss. For fantasy managers, it means Schrader shouldn't be treated as a weekly streamer you drop after one rough outing. The leash is longer than the normal starter's because the organization already decided he beats elite competition.
The tell comes Sunday. If the Colts line up for a 55-plus-yard attempt rather than punt in the first half, Mason's press-conference confidence becomes usage — and Schrader is not just a Week 1 start, but a season-long asset worth holding through the noise.
Read the full transcript: Brian Mason Media Availability Transcript (2026-09-08)