Tag: Adam Vinatieri

Former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri is retiring from the NFL

What a career.

Former New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri announced he is retiring from the NFL during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.

Vinatieri, 48, played in the NFL from 1996 to 2019 with a stint in New England from 1996 to 2005. He spent the remainder of his career with the Indianapolis Colts. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) and one with the Colts (XLI). He made three Pro Bowls during his career, and was 599 of 715 (83.8%) on field goals during his career with a long of 57. He will finish his career as the all-time leading scorer in the NFL.

His most storied kicks include a game-winner in whiteout conditions against the Oakland Raiders in the AFC playoffs after the 2001 season and a game-winning field goal in both Super Bowl XXXVI and Super Bowl XXXVIII.

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Adam Vinatieri announces retirement after 24 NFL seasons

Adam Vinatieri is retiring after 24 seasons in the NFL

Well, the five-year count to Canton can finally start for Adam Vinatieri and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The amazing kicker for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts went on the show of former teammate Pat McAfee Wednesday to announce his retirement from the NFL … after 24 seasons.

Vinatieri joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 1996 out of South Dakota State. He played 10 seasons with New England and was a member of the Colts for 14 seasons.

A four-time Super Bowl winner — three with the Patriots and one with the Colts — he has the most Super Bowl wins by a kicker. He is also the only player to score 1,000 points for two different teams.

Vinatieri is the NFL’s all-time leading scorer and a four-time Super Bowl champion as Pat McAfee’s account tweeted.

Per ESPN.com:

Vinatieri, 48, a three-time Pro Bowl selection and a first-team All-Pro pick three times, scored 2,673 points for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis, where he played his final 14 seasons.

He made 29 game-winning kicks in his career, with three of them coming with the Patriots from 1996 to 2005. He made a game winner in blizzard-like conditions against Oakland in the 2001 AFC playoffs and made game-winning field goals in Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII. No kicker has more Super Bowl rings than Vinatieri’s four — three with the Patriots and one with the Colts.

 

Twitter reacts to Adam Vinatieri’s retirement

Taking a look at how Twitter reacted to the news that former Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri retired.

Former Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday, giving his friend and former teammate Pat McAfee the scoop on the news.

Vinatieri, who is the NFL’s current leader in career field goals made and points scored, will eventually get into Canton to receive his gold jacket. When that will be is the question.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the news of Vinatieri’s retirement:

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Former Colts K Adam Vinatieri announces retirement

Adam Vinatieri has called it a career.

Indianapolis Colts legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri announced his retirement from the NFL while on the Pat McAfee show Wednesday.

After suffering a knee injury at the end of the 2019 season, which kept him off the field for all of 2020, Vinatieri is seemingly calling it a career. This was hinted at just a few days ago when Vinatieri went on Morten Andersen’s podcast.

It should be noted that McAfee uses some NSFW language in the video, but here’s a look at the retirement announcement from Vinatieri.

It has been a long and illustrious career for Vinatieri, who completed his 24th season in the league in 2019. He will go down as the greatest kicker of all time, and he has the records to prove it.

Vinatieri enters retirement holding the records for career field goals made (583) and points scored (2,605). He also holds the record for consecutive field goals made with 44. His longest career field goal was from 57 yards, and his field-goal percentage sits at 84.1%.

Vinatieri started his NFL career in 1996 with the New England Patriots. He rose to stardom helping them win three Super Bowls until his final season with them in 2005. He signed with the Colts in 2006 and has been the kicker ever since.

Vinatieri was a three-time Pro Bowler (2002, 2004, 2014) and three-time All-Pro (2002, 2004, 2014).

Though the comeback from the knee injury didn’t happen, Vinatieri will go down as one of the greatest kickers of all time while enjoying a career that will see him end up in Canton.

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Adam Vinatieri may officially be heading toward retirement

The NFL’s all-time leading scorer may be heading toward retirement soon.

Former Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri hasn’t played in an NFL game since December 2019, but he hasn’t officially called it a career yet. However, that time may be approaching soon.

Vinatieri told Hall of Famer Morten Andersen on the latter’s podcast podcast “Great Dane Nation” that while he hasn’t officially made the move to retire, the writing is on the wall for the 48-year-old.

“I haven’t officially retired, but I’m probably on that way,” Vinatieri said on the podcast via IndyStar. “Like I said, I’m continuing to do stuff to try and get there. It’s just not 
 there might be a time to officially do that here in the near future.”

Vinatieri finished the 2019 season on the injured reserve list, which paved the way for Chase McLaughlin to finish out the campaign as the Colts’ kicker. Indy then brought in undrafted rookie Rodrigo Blankenship, who was the team’s kicker in 2020.

Vinatieri ended that season with a knee injury and had intentions of returning. However, he dealt with complications with the surgery and recovery process while the country and league tried to handle the pandemic.

“When you get to be our age, and you’ve kicked as many balls as we have, things start to wear out a little bit,” Vinatieri said. “Unfortunately, it was a little bit more than we were hoping. We knew we had some stuff in (the knee) that needed to be fixed. But when our surgeon went in there, he said, ‘I’m not giving you the 40,000-mile overhaul; it looked like we gave you the 80,000-mile overhaul.’”

Vinatieri hasn’t given up, though, and has been working over the last year to get back into playing shape. The body just hasn’t been able to bounce back like it used to.

“Every time I try to go out and push it, it pushes back a little bit, which in a weird way, puts the writing on the wall. I haven’t officially, like, given up by any means,” said Vinatieri. “But it’s not coming back the way I thought it would or wanted it to.”

The Colts have moved forward from the future Hall of Fame kicker, who owns the most field goals made in a career. They will see a battle between Blankenship and Eddy Pineiro, who signed with the team following the 2021 NFL draft.

Vinatieri hasn’t officially called it a career yet, but don’t be surprised if that news comes out over the offseason.

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Is the Adam Vinatieri era over in Indy?

The future Hall of Famer might be done in Indy.

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With training camp starting up, the Indianapolis Colts are preparing for the 2020 season and seemingly doing so without legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri in the plans.

Currently a free agent, Vinatieri is still working through rehab from his season-ending injury, and the Colts are focused on the kicker battle between Chase McLaughlin and Rodrigo Blankenship.

When asked about the kicker competition, head coach Frank Reich hinted that Vinatieri wasn’t really in the plans for 2020.

“Adam is still working. Adam’s still working in the rehab. So as far as the competition between those two guys – yeah, I don’t mind spelling that out a little bit,” Reich told reporters Wednesday. “Without any preseason games, we will just have – practices in general will be competitive, but we will have some competitive kicking contests in the middle of practice, at the end of practice. We’ll try to create as many high-pressured scenarios as we can for those competitions. They’ll get all of it in their normal routine, but then as a team we will create a more team atmosphere, more team kicking drills that will be heightened and weighted more heavily in the kicking competition.”

Because of the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colts aren’t allowed to work free agents out. So while the Colts can still sign free agents, they wouldn’t be able to work out Vinatieri before signing him if they felt inclined to do so.

But when general manager Chris Ballard was asked about certain position battles to watch, the kicker position came up. Vinatieri’s name didn’t.

“Then, of course the kicking battle,” Ballard said. “We’re going to have to find ways to make sure that we create enough competition and pressure situations for both (Chase) McLaughlin and (Rodrigo) Blankenship. Frank (Reich) and (his) staff have a plan for it, but that’s going to be an interesting one to watch.”

Nothing is official until it is official, but it appears the Vinatieri era is coming to an end in Indy as the Colts prepare for the kicker battle at training camp.

7 Colts named to AFC South All-Decade team

Colts past and present make the list.

The Indianapolis Colts have had their share of strong campaigns and seasons to forget during the last decade. They’ve also had their share of some of the best players to compete in the division during that span.

ESPN reporters who cover teams in the AFC South recently voted on an All-Decade team in the division. The Colts had seven players, both current and former, make the list.

As voted by the reporters from ESPN, here are the seven Colts who made the team:

  • QB Andrew Luck (2012–2018)
  • WR T.Y. Hilton (2012–present)
  • WR Andre Johnson (2015)
  • G Quenton Nelson (2018–present)
  • DE Robert Mathis (2003–2016)
  • LB Darius Leonard (2018–present)
  • K Adam Vinatieri (2006–2019)

It should come as no surprise that Luck was named the team’s best player throughout the decade. Though he called it a career in his prime, the injuries and constant cycle of rehab and pain simply took too much of a mental toll. Colts fans will always wonder “What If?” when it comes to the former No. 1 overall pick. Hilton was the Colts’ honorable mention for player of the decade.

Luck, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, replaced Peyton Manning as the Colts’ franchise quarterback. Luck led the Colts to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons in the NFL, including consecutive AFC South titles and an appearance in the AFC Championship Game in 2014. Injuries, which led to Luck’s early retirement at age 29, started to take a toll on him in 2015. He missed 26 games — including the entire 2017 season — because of shoulder, kidney and rib injuries. It was during the 2017 season that Luck questioned whether he would be able to continue his career. Luck shocked the sports world when he announced his retirement during an emotional news conference on Aug. 24, 2019. He finished his career with 2,000 completions, 3,290 attempts, 23,671 yards, 171 touchdowns and 83 interceptions. Luck would likely be the front-runner to be the team’s player of the decade in the next 10 years, too. If only.

Honorable mention: T.Y. Hilton, WR, 2012-present. Hilton, who was also part of the 2012 draft class with the Colts, followed in the footsteps of Reggie Wayne and Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison. Hilton has 8,598 yards, including five seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards in his eight seasons in the league to go with 45 touchdowns. — Mike Wells

The Colts are hoping to get this decade started on the right foot with the new regime showing plenty of depth at multiple positions. They have a chance to make a run for the division in 2020 with some of the names that appeared on this list.

5 kickers Giants could sign to replace Aldrick Rosas

With Aldrick Rosas facing some serious legal problems, here’s a look at five kickers the New York Giants could sign.

New York Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas was arrested and charged with a hit and run in California earlier this week, but that may be just the beginning of his legal problems.

In addition to a hit and run, Rosas was charged with driving with a suspended license and could also face DUI charges after fleeing the scene of the crash and later being discovered walking roughly a mile away covered in blood.

At the very least, Rosas can expect to hear from the NFL regarding a suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, which means the Giants are in a pickle.

Here’s a quick look at five kickers the team could potentially sign to replace Rosas or bridge the gap on any potential suspension.

George Walker IV / Tennessean.com, Nashville Tennessean via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Ryan Succop

The Tennessee Titans remain open to bringing Ryan Succop back in 2020, but they may have competition for his services now.

Succop was derailed by injuries last season, seeing action in just six games while making two stints on injured reserve. Prior to that, the veteran had not missed a single game in his career and was a fairly reliable placekicker.

Succop has connected on 82.2% of his field goal attempts and 97.1% of his point after attempts throughout his 11-year NFL career.

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Contract details: Rodrigo Blankenship’s UDFA deal with Colts

Georgia Bulldog legend and Lou Groza Award winner Rodrigo Blankenship signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Indianapolis Colts

Georgia Bulldog legend and Lou Groza Award winner Rodrigo Blankenship fell into the Indianapolis Colts’ lap as an undrafted free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft.

Blankenship will not have an easy path to starting for the Colts. However, he was able to haul in more money than the average undrafted free agent:

Blankenship had a distinguished career at the University of Georgia. He was a fan favorite after hitting a game-winning field goal at Kentucky in 2016. Now, he’ll look to replace an NFL legend in former Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri.

Blankenship’s landed a $20,000 signing bonus according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Hot Rod will have to compete with Chase McLaughlin to win Indianapolis’s starting job at kicker.

Blankenship is one of the best kickers in Georgia history, and one of the greatest to ever do it in the SEC. He made 82.5% of his kicks and all 200 of his career extra points at Georgia.

Sep 9, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs kicker Rodrigo Blankenship (98) kicks the game winning field goal in the fourth quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

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Vikings kicker Morten Andersen weighs in on the GOAT kicker conversation

Former Vikings kicker Morten Andersen named several players as ones that he thinks should be considered the best kickers of all time.

Asked about his favorite kicker he likes to watch in the current NFL, Morten Andersen gave a pretty straight-forward answer: Justin Tucker.

“You have to look at him and say ‘wow, that’s impressive,'” Andersen said.

Andersen, a former Vikings kicker who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, also pointed to former Rams and current Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein, Saints kicker Wil Lutz, 49ers kicker Robbie Gould and current free agent Matt Bryant as players he likes to watch.

“I always look at the initial trajectory, how you’re kicking it obviously, but the sound of the ball, and how does it explode off your foot and does it go high right away?”

Andersen is an authority on this subject, considering he once held the record for field goals and points scored in the NFL. But since he retired in 2007, Andersen has been passed by Adam Vinatieri in both those categories.

Despite loving to watch Tucker, between Tucker and Vinatieri both in their primes with the game on the line, Andersen is choosing Vinatieri.

“I’m taking Vinatieri just cause of his resume,” Andersen said. “He did it in Super Bowls he did it in the snow, he’s done it in all kinds of weather. So I’m going to take Vinatieri right now, but Tucker is certainly capable.”

However, Andersen didn’t give just one player when asked about the greatest kicker of all time.

“There’s a couple of good guys,” Andersen said. “Vinatieri is right up there, Tucker is right up there. I feel like I belong,” Andersen said.

“I feel [Jan] Stenerud belongs, Gary [Anderson] belongs, Jason Hanson, I don’t think you can just say this is the guy; there are several guys that are right up there in the top tier.”

Andersen is now an ambassador of NJ Online Gambling, a source of information for legal online casinos in New Jersey.