Peyton Manning was the most important player the Colts had to be keep this offseason, but when it comes to the other free agents there is none more important than kicker Adam Vinatieri. During his time as an Indianapolis Colt he has contributed quite a bit especially in the Colts Super Bowl run where he made a single game record five field goals…twice.
This past season Vinatieri only missed two field goals but was spotless in his other attempts; he even made the go ahead field goal in the Wild Card Playoff game just before the Jets won the game with one of their own. So there are definitely no signs of him slowing down just yet, plus there aren’t a whole lot of options out there at the kicker position and why burn a draft pick on a unproven rookie kicker?
Of course there are some factors that will go into whether he will be kept around, one of them being the terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement and how much room the Colts will have left over after Manning gets his new record breaking contract. If Vinatieri does stay in Indy he will have perfect weather conditions for eight games out of the season, it would be surprising to see him in another jersey next season but crazier things have happened. Vinatieri spent most of his career in New England where he won three Super Bowls, before he went to Indianapolis and won one in his first year.