Adam

Vinatieri

He made the announcement on former teammate Pat McAfee’s show. The decision was sadly made for Vinatieri, who did not want to hang up his cleats following a rough 2019. No one came calling in 2020, however, so the greatest kicker in league history is calling it a day. The kicker of Super Bowl winners and a franchise icon for two different organizations, Vinatieri is a lock to become the fifth kicker enshrined in Canton, joining Morten Andersen, George Blanda, Lou Groza and Jan Stenerud. Only Andersen and Stenerud were pure kickers.

The problem right now, however, is that the quarantine has slowed down his rehab from knee surgery, putting him in question for Week 1. The 47-year-old had a horrendous 2019 with the Colts before getting shut down. But if healthy, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see Vinatieri bounce back. He likely wants a chance with the Colts, but the two sides have yet to hash anything out in terms of a contract.

Colts coach Frank Reich made the disclosure in a Tuesday “digital press conference.” "(We plan) to have a sitdown with Adam and see where he’s at once he’s a little further along in that process,” Reich said of Vinatieri’s recovery from knee surgery. Turning 48 in December, 2020 would be Vinatieri’s staggering 25th season. Season 24, of course, went exceptionally poorly. Vinatieri converted at least 85 percent of his field goal attempts every year from 2013-18, however. A bounce back would be far from surprising.

Vinatieri is working his way back from December knee surgery. It’s not clear if he plans on playing another season or if the Colts would want him after he missed eight field goals and six extra points last year. There should be more clarity on Vinatieri after the Combine.

“We’ll let him rehab his knee and see where he’s at physically,” was as far as GM Chris Ballard was willing to go. Vinatieri turned 47 three days after Christmas. He was a massive liability in 2019, shanking 8-of-25 field goal attempts while missing 6-of-28 PATs. He directly cost the Colts two games. Perhaps a seamless rehabilitation from his knee operation will get the greatest kicker in league history back in gear, but the stakes are too high for a team to roll the dice on a kicker that will soon be eligible to join the AARP.

Celebrating his 47th birthday later this month, this could very well be the last we see of Vinatieri on an NFL field. The fading vet limped to the finish line, laboring through a mistake-ridden 2019 campaign that included eight missed field goals and six missed extra points. Still, he’s one of the greatest kickers to ever lace them up and will assuredly be headed to Canton when his playing days are over. Rookie Chase McLaughlin will finish out the stretch as Indy’s placekicker.

Chase McLaughlin will kick for as long as Vinatieri remains sidelined. The good news for the Colts is they’ll get both Marlon Mack and Parris Campbell back. This game has sneaky-shootout potential: Only Chiefs-Patriots (49.5) and Panthers-Falcons (48) have a higher game total than Colts-Buccaneers (47.5)

This was expected after Vinatieri was forced into the MRI machine and into doctor’s offices all week. It’s uncertain if Vinatieri will miss the rest of the season, which could put an end to his Hall of Fame career. The Colts will plug Chase McLaughlin into the starting spot after winning a waiver claim on him earlier in the week.

Vinatieri is battling a knee injury, which reportedly required an MRI. The 46-year-old (soon to be 47) has been a liability this season, missing a combined 14 field goals and extra points for Indianapolis. Chase McLaughlin, claimed off waivers from San Francisco earlier this week, will be in line to kick Sunday at Tampa Bay. He should be an upgrade over Vinatieri, who entered the NFL the same year McLaughlin was born (1996).

Vinatieri reportedly had a flare-up in Week 13 warmups which led to three costly missed field goals. As a result, the Colts claimed K Chase McLaughlin on Wednesday. Vinatieri is, at best, questionable for Week 14 now that he’s getting MRIs and speaking to doctors. This is the first time in his 24-year career that Vinatieri has been under 70% on field goals and under 90% on extra points.