What to expect from Adam Vinatieri in 2016

Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri is entering his 21st season in the NFL and is the oldest player in the league. Despite these facts, he looks like he could keep playing for years to come.

Often the most underrated player on the roster, a kicker can make or break your season. Entering his 11th season with the Colts, Adam Vinatieri shows no signs of slowing down. The 43-year old converted 25 of his 27 field goal attempts in 2015, including four of his five 50-plus yard attempts. That field goal percentage (92.6) was good enough for fourth in the league.

The oldest player to ever play in the NFL was quarterback George Blanda, who played until he was 48 (which is frankly unreal). Obviously Vinatieri isn’t subject to the same sort of punishment that a quarterback would face and likely won’t take a single hit this season. Injuries and fatigue are what generally leave a player first and since the Colts have taken steps to insulate Vinatieri from absorbing physical contact, he could have many years left in the tank.

One of the best moves the Colts have ever made was having Pat McAfee handle kickoffs. This is the best way to protect a kicker, who is arguably more valuable to the team. It certainly helps that McAfee is an artist when it comes to kickoffs and led the league in touchbacks. All the Colts ask of Vinatieri is to be deadly accurate on field goals, and he’s been more than happy to oblige them.

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Vinatieri is just a season removed from his career high in field goal percentage when he hit 30-of-31 attempts (missing his first FG of the year in the final game of 2014). He signed a two-year deal this offseason, and it seems that if he can continue to play at a high level (55-for-58 past two years) the Colts will attempt to re-sign him (but perhaps on year-to-year deals after this contract is up).

It would certainly make sense if the Colts decided to find a younger (and cheaper) kicker in the near future, but Vinatieri doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. In the past couple years, Vinatieri has only missed once from 50-plus yards out and twice from less than that. He’s missed as many extra point attempts as field goals in that time (three in 2015 due to the new rules on XPAs).

What can the Colts expect from Vinatieri in 2016?

Anything less than 90 percent field goal completion rate would be a disappointment given the past two seasons. However Vinatieri converted on 78.8 percent of his attempts in 2012 and 87.5 percent in 2013. Of his 21 seasons, he’s only converted above 90 percent for a season five times.

Vinatieri’s career average of 84 percent is 15th all-time in the NFL and virtually assures him a spot in the Hall of Fame. A great season from Vinatieri would be converting above 90 percent once again, but a successful campaign is anything above 85.

We could quibble about when the field goals occur, but is there really any doubt that with the game on the line Vinatieri will hit it?

The Colts can rest assured that their kicker is still one of the best in the NFL and will be there when they need him most. Along with McAfee, the special teams unit is going to be an awfully strong (if underrated) unit in Indianapolis.

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