Adam Vinatieri Wants to Return to the Indianapolis Colts
By Andrew Ites
Adam Vinatieri has already established himself as a Hall of Fame kicker, but he says he wants to return to the Colts for his 23rd NFL season.
The Colts have had one of the league’s best special teams units for years, and Adam Vinatieri’s consistency has been a key to their success.
Vinatieri just turned 45 years old about a month ago and his current contract expired at the end of the season, but he told Colts.com that he would like to come back to Indianapolis and kick next season.
"“I feel like my body is still in good shape, and I can help and contribute to a team,” said Vinatieri. “So, hopefully it’s here. We’ll see. It’s a business. I understand how all that works, so we’ll see where it goes.”"
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I don’t think there’s any question that the Colts would love to have Adam Vinatieri as their kicker in 2018. He had a bit of a down year in 2017, but most of his misses could be blamed on some abnormally terrible weather in Buffalo and Baltimore.
With the extra point being moved back and the margin of victory in the NFL being so small, having a dependable kicker has never been more important. There are plenty of teams who have kicker problems and would love to bring in Vinatieri.
He has nailed at least 85% of his field goals for five straight seasons, and Vinatieri has shown he has the clutch gene that is so difficult to evaluate in kickers.
The only way I saw the Colts moving on from Vinatieri this offseason would be retirement, and it sounds like that’s not in his plans. Giving him a contract extension should be an easy decision as long as he wants to keep playing. This is great news as Indianapolis fans hope Vinatieri can kick forever.