“I just missed it,” Vinatieri said. “I got to do better than that, just pulled it left.”
9:28am: Ideally, Adam Vinatieri would like to play through his 49th birthday in December. But, at this stage, the longtime NFL kicker doesn’t see it happening.
“I haven’t officially retired, but I’m probably on that way,” Vinatieri said in a recent interview with Morten Andersen (via the Indy Star). “Like I said, I’m continuing to do stuff to try and get there. It’s just not … there might be a time to officially do that here in the near future.”
Vinatieri’s contract with the Colts expired at the end of the 2019 season, making him an unrestricted free agent. The veteran planned on returning to the field in 2020, but quarantine life hampered the rehabilitation of his surgically-repaired knee. Meanwhile, the Colts moved on to undrafted rookie kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.
On the whole, Vinatieri’s career has been legendary. Over the course of 24 seasons, he captured four Super Bowl rings, three First Team All-Pro nods, and countless clutch kicks. His late-year injury resulted in his first missed game since Super Bowl XLIV. And, with the Colts, he had perfect attendance dating back to 2010.
With that said, Vinatieri did show some signs of slowing down in 2019. He made just 17 of his 25 field goal tries and 22 of his 28 extra points. The Colts had issues beyond the special teams unit, of course, but those misses did not help matters as they dropped out of playoff contention.
“When you get to be our age, and you’ve kicked as many balls as we have, things start to wear out a little bit,” Vinatieri said. “Unfortunately, it was a little bit more than we were hoping. We knew we had some stuff in (the knee) that needed to be fixed. But when our surgeon went in there, he said, ‘I’m not giving you the 40,000-mile overhaul; it looked like we gave you the 80,000-mile overhaul.’”
If Vinatieri returns for another NFL season, it’ll be a historic feat. Currently, quarterback/kicker George Blanda holds the league’s all-time record on that front having played at the age of 48 in the 1975 season.
]]>Vinatieri’s contract with the Colts expired at the end of last season, making him an unrestricted free agent. Meanwhile, the Colts are exploring their options. This week, they signed undrafted rookie kicker Rodrigo Blankenship to compete with Chase McLaughlin, who took over for Vinatieri following his injury in December.
On the whole, Vinatieri’s career has been legendary. Over the course of 24 seasons, he’s captured four Super Bowl rings, three First Team All-Pro nods, and countless clutch kicks. His late-year injury resulted in his first missed game since Super Bowl XLIV. And, with the Colts, he had perfect attendance dating back to 2010.
With that said, Vinatieri did show some signs of slowing down in 2019. He made just 17 of his 25 field goal tries and 22 of his 28 extra points. The Colts had issues beyond the special teams unit, of course, but those misses did not help matters as they dropped out of playoff contention.
If Vinatieri returns for another NFL season, it’ll be a historic feat. Currently, quarterback/kicker George Blanda holds the league’s all-time record on that front having played at the age of 48 in the 1975 season.
]]>“For us, we got the guy we thought was the right fit,” he explained. “I don’t know if I’d say (Brady) wasn’t a fit. There’s always a fit when you have a great player, when you have maybe the best player of all time. There’s a lot of factors that go into these things.” One of those factors is of course Reich’s familiarity with Rivers, who he coached with the Chargers. Brady was likely attracted to the Colts’ coaching staff and offensive line, although things worked out alright for him with Tampa Bay. Still, the fact that the Colts explicitly chose Rivers over Brady is interesting.
Here’s more from Lucas Oil Stadium:
09:23am: Adam Vinatieri‘s season is over, and his career may be as well. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Vinatieri will undergo season-ending knee surgery, and the Colts will place him on IR (Twitter link).
Vinatieri missed Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers with the knee injury, and given that the soon-to-be 47-year-old was in the midst of the worst season of his storied career, it would not be a surprise to see him hang up the cleats.
If so, it would be a disappointing end for the future Hall-of-Famer. He ends the 2019 campaign having converted just just 17-of-25 field goals and 22-of-28 extra points, and his struggles are one of the reasons why Indianapolis is all but eliminated from playoff contention.
In the long run, though, that will just be an unpleasant footnote to a tremendous resume that includes four Super Bowl rings, three First Team All-Pro nods, and a bevy of clutch kicks. Sunday’s game was also the first he had missed since Super Bowl XLIV, and he had kicked in every Colts game over the past 10 seasons.
The Colts will likely to continue to deploy Chase McLaughlin in Vinatieri’s absence, though McLaughlin did miss a field goal try in Indy’s three-point defeat to Tampa Bay.
]]>Vinatieri went through an MRI earlier this week, after appearing on Indianapolis’ injury report Wednesday. McLaughlin has kicked for the Chargers and 49ers this season, and his rookie-year work prompted the Patriots and Bills to submit waiver claims in an attempt to land him. The Colts carried the higher waiver priority and will see if the young specialist can solve some of their kicking woes.
This will halt Vinatieri’s run of appearances as a Colt. The future Hall of Famer, brought over from New England in 2006, has not missed a game due to injury since Super Bowl XLIV. The Colts signed Matt Stover to replace an injured Vinatieri after a knee injury ended his 2009 season after six games. He has kicked in every Colts game over the past 10 seasons.
The soon-to-be 47-year-old specialist remains on Indianapolis’ active roster, despite this being his worst season as a pro. Vinatieri has missed eight field goals and six extra points, almost certainly affecting the Colts’ playoff pursuit. Filling in for Michael Badgley and then Robbie Gould, McLaughlin has made 7 of 8 field goals and is 15-for-15 on PATs.
]]>Midway through the Week 14 lead-up, let’s take a look at the latest coming out of the AFC. Additional kicker uncertainty exists within this conference.
“Adam is our kicker. Chris and I have talked about the situation. Obviously there have been other kickers in here,” Reich said. “When you take a look, we believe Adam is the answer.”
Vinatieri, 46, has missed six extra points and five field goals this season. His woes have cost them games, including Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins.
Still, Vinatieri is a future Hall of Famer with a resume full of Super Bowl rings and clutch kicks. The Colts, clearly, are keeping some options in the back pocket but Vinatieri’s job is safe – for now.
Vinatieri will look to get back on the right track on Sunday when the Colts take on the Jaguars on Sunday afternoon. Then, it’s a short week for the Colts as they face the Texans in Houston on Thursday night.
]]>It sounds as if the Colts will consider cutting Vinatieri if they are sufficiently impressed by one of the kickers they’re bringing in for a tryout. If that happens, it would be an unceremonious end to a brilliant career, but Indianapolis cannot afford to keep Vinatieri around because of what he’s accomplished in the past. In 2019, the four-time Super Bowl champ has directly contributed to several of the Colts’ four losses — including Sunday’s home loss to the previously 1-7 Dolphins — and he has missed a whopping six extra points and five field goals.
After the second game of the 2019 season, a game in which he missed two PATS in a narrow win over the Titans, Vinatieri sounded like a man contemplating retirement. He ultimately elected to continue playing, and the Colts have stood by him, but after the defeat to Miami, it was easy to see that head coach Frank Reich‘s patience was wearing thin. Now, it’s unclear whether Vinatieri has already attempted the last kick of his 24-year NFL tenure.
We will pass along the names of the kickers the Colts are trying out when they become available.
]]>On extra points, Reich said “there is an expectation there. Whatever percent it is to make an extra point, 97 percent, or 96.whatever it is to make that, we need to make those,” Erickson noted in a separate tweet. Vinatieri has now missed six extra points and five field goals on the year. It’s certainly not for sure, but the Colts appear to be inching closer to a divorce with the legendary 46-year-old kicker.
Here’s more from around the league:
“A lot of confidence, no plans to do anything different,” Reich said (via ESPN’s Mike Wells).
Reich even offered an explanation for the 43-yard kick that ended up sailing far left, noting that Vinatieri had to kick the ball with the laces facing him. While part of the blame could be placed on holder Rigoberto Sanchez, the veteran kicker noted that it was his job to convert the field goal attempt.
“I just missed it,” Vinatieri said. “I got to do better than that, just pulled it left.”
The future Hall-of-Famer has converted a career-low 70.6-percent of his field goal attempts (12-for-17) and 73.7-percent of his extra point attempts (14-for-19). There was some thought that Vinatieri could hang up his cleats following his early-season struggles, and the Colts ended up auditioning a number of free agent kickers. Considering we’re now in early November, there’s little chance the organization would look to make a change now.
While the Colts are struggling on special teams, the defense also took a hit today. Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star tweets that rookie wideout Parris Campbell broke his hand. The second-rounder underwent a procedure, and the team won’t place him on the injured reserve right now.
]]>The 46-year-old kicking icon will remain the Colts’ kicker for Week 3, Frank Reich confirmed. “Adam’s our kicker. … He’s an instrumental leader on our team,” Reich said, per the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson (on Twitter).
Reich and Vinatieri met Monday, and the future Hall of Famer will be given another chance. Jim Irsay expressed concern about Vinatieri on Sunday, but the Colts are standing by their kicker of the past 14 seasons. The Colts lost 30-24 in overtime to the Chargers in Week 1, after Vinatieri’s three misses, and narrowly edged the Titans 19-17 after Vinatieri’s two PAT misfires.
Last season, Vinatieri hit 23 of 27 field goals and 44 of 47 extra points. He will need to bounce back quickly to head toward those benchmarks (or finish the season as a Colt). Reich said Chris Ballard will decide whether or not additional kickers are brought in to work out, per Erickson (on Twitter).
]]>“Breaks my heart to see it because I know how hard (Vinatieri) works,” Irsay said (via ESPN’s Mike Wells). “Of course it’s a concern. I can’t lie to you guys. Anyone would tell you it’s a concern. Adam, coach (Frank Reich), (general manager) Chris (Ballard), me. Yeah, I mean, in this league, it’s professional football. We all have to produce.
“The expectation is to win when you’re a professional. So we have to figure out where we’re at there and see what coach and Chris think is the best direction. And I know Adam will be the most self-honest person of all, so we’ll see where we’re at.”
Meanwhile, while Vinatieri didn’t say much following the victory, he did indicate that we’d hear from him on Monday. When told by reporters that tomorrow was a day off, the veteran had the same response: “Yeah, you will (hear from me).”
We’re all familiar with the future Hall of Famer’s accolades. Vinatieri made a name for himself by converting game-winning field goals during Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII, and he’s earned another two rings during his career with the Patriots and Colts. He currently holds NFL records for most points scored (2,600) and most field goals made (582). He also holds the distinction of being the oldest active NFL player at 46 years old.
While Vinatieri’s field goal percentage dropped each year between 2015 and 2018, he was still more-than-reliable. However, the 24-year veteran has struggled mightily in 2019. He missed a pair of field goal attempts and one extra point attempt in Week 1, and he followed that up by missing a pair of extra point attempts today.
While Reich seemed to place Vinatieri’s struggles on the “snap and hold,” there’s no denying that the veteran may simply be ready to call it a career.
]]>Adding fuel to that fire, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post hears that Broncos GM John Elway is “smitten” with Missouri signal caller Drew Lock, and that Elway’s infatuation with the quarterback was “the worst-kept secret at the Senior Bowl.” Lock seems like a real possibility to go to the Broncos at ten, and could be the first quarterback taken if Dwayne Haskins slips a little bit. If the Broncos do draft a quarterback, they could get out of Keenum’s contract relatively easily, or choose to keep him on for one year as a bridge quarterback/mentor.
Here’s more from the AFC:
]]>
Vinatieri owns four Super Bowl rings and is the league’s all-time leading scorer, so he has nothing left to prove. Still, Vinatieri’s love of football has not waned, so he is eager to return for his age-46 season. Should the Colts reach the playoffs in 2019, Vinatieri will be booting kicks as a 47-year-old.
“If they’re wanting, I can’t imagine (I’d) not keep playing, you know?” Vinatieri said earlier this month.
Vinatieri nailed 85% of his field goal tries (23-for-27) for a second straight year and connected on a 54-yard field goal for a third straight season. He made four 50-plus-yard field goals — the fourth straight year he has connected on at least four from beyond 50 yards. He did miss an extra point and a field goal inside of PAT distance in the Colts’ divisional round loss to the Chiefs, but he’s still one of the league’s most reliable legs.
“I will say this: do I think he can still kick in this league and be a really good kicker? Absolutely I do,” GM Chris Ballard said recently. “He is as important a guy in that locker room. I don’t know if I have been around a special teams player that has as much impact as Adam (Vinatieri) does in the locker room. From a positive standpoint, all of our young guys that come in get to see Adam Vinatieri work, rehab, prepare his body every year, be a pro, handle the hard times, handle the good times. I mean all of that, what Adam brings, brings a lot of value to this team.”
Only two players — kicker Morten Andersen and quarterback/kicker George Blanda — have played either a 24th season or past their 47th birthdays. Once again, Vinatieri has his eye on smashing a new record.
The deal was first reported by Zak Keefer of the Indy Star (on Twitter). Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) reported the length of the contract.
]]>Corry, who knows a thing or two about the cap, writes that the Colts are “the envy of the NFL from a salary cap standpoint”, and that Ballard will have a lot of flexibility to do whatever he wants this spring. He writes that the Colts are in a “position to make a splash in free agency”, which is interesting considering the team has been linked to Le’Veon Bell in the past. Corry also thinks the Colts will be looking for a secondary receiver to pair with T.Y. Hilton as well as a pass-rusher to bolster the defensive line. Whatever Ballard does, the Colts will be one of the most interesting teams to monitor this offseason.
Here’s more from around the league: