Colts Announce Adam Vinatieri Will Remain Starting Kicker Despite Mulling Retirement
By Thomas Carannante
Adam Vinatieri's poor start to the NFL season has certainly been a storyline fans didn't see coming.
The Indianapolis Colts kicker was reportedly mulling retirement after Sunday's win over the Tennessee Titans, which was his second straight head-scratching performance. In the first two weeks of 2019, the NFL's scoring leader has made just one of three field goals and two of five extra points.
But after giving it some thought, Vinatieri is going to stay in Indy.
Official: Adam Vinatieri will kick Sunday for the Colts against the Falcons, per coach Frank Reich, and beyond.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) September 16, 2019
"Adam's our kicker. He's not only our kicker, he's an instrumental leader on our team."
You didn't think the 24-year veteran was going to walk away from the game after a couple of bad showings, did you? This man has hit 84% of his field goals throughout his career and he missed just four last year (on top of hitting 93.6% of his extra points). He's still got the distance too, drilling four of his six attempts from 50 yards or farther.
Nonetheless, this is good news for all, considering how grim yesterday sounded.
Just grabbed Adam Vinatieri was he headed to the bus. He said “you’ll here from me tomorrow.” I told him we don’t see him tomorrow. And he said, “Yeah, you will.”
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) September 15, 2019
Sure, Vinatieri is certainly at the end of the road, but who's to say he can't fix these issues in the short term and finish out the full season? He's the best to ever do it, after all.