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Adam Vinatieri heads to IR as the leading scorer in NFL history. Will the kicking great return or is this the end?
Adam Vinatieri is king of the NFL when it comes to points. The Patriots/Colts great was put on Injured Reserve Monday, facing season-ending surgery. Vinatier spent the past 14 seasons with the Colts but struggled in 2019, making 17 of the 25 field goals (68%) he attempted while making 22 of his 28 point-after attempts (78.6%).
Adam Vinatieri is done for 2019.
Indianapolis Colts veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri will reportedly undergo surgery on his knee and will be placed on the injured reserve list, effectively ending his season.
Vinatieri missed Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to the knee injury, and there were questions as to whether this might be the end of his 2019 season—and potentially his career.
While there are no certainties about his future, we know Vinatieri won’t be kicking again in 2019, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri will undergo season-ending knee surgery and will be placed on injured reserve, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 9, 2019
It has been a rough season for Vinatieri, who has missed a career-high 14 combined kicks. He has missed eight field-goal attempts and six extra-point attempts.
Though he’s beloved by the fans and is certainly a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Vinatieri’s final season will be one riddled with disappointments. There were many instances the Colts could have pulled out a win had Vinatieri returned to form.
Replacing Vinatieri will be the rookie Chase McLaughlin, who got his first start with the Colts on Sunday against the Bucs. He made two of three field-goal attempts and all three of his extra-point attempts.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Vinatieri but for now, he has to undergo surgery to repair the injured knee.
Adam Vinatieri is week to week with four games left.
Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri had a flare-up with a knee injury this week and has been ruled out for Sunday’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is likely week to week with the injury.
Vinatieri wasn’t sure if his season would be over while awaiting the results of an MRI on his knee. Head coach Frank Reich told the media Friday that Vinatieri’s season isn’t over yet, and the hasn’t gotten to the point of discussing a trip to the injured reserve list.
“At this point that has not been discussed. It’s just kind of a week-to-week thing. We’ll just monitor it and see how it responds,” Reich said. “That will be a week-to-week deal.”
The 46-year-old kicker has been far from himself this season. His combined 14 missed kicks are the most he’s ever had in a career and the third-most ever in a season.
In his 24th season, Vinatieri has been a lock for production and consistency throughout his career. It simply hasn’t been the same in 2019 whether he’s dealing with injury or flat-out missing kicks by a wide margin.
While Vinatieri doesn’t appear to be heading to the injured reserve list right now, his week to week status with essentially three games remaining means there is a high chance—even a likely one—that the veteran doesn’t return this season.
T.Y. Hilton, two others ruled out on Friday.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich ruled out three players on Friday ahead of the Week 14 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including wide receiver T.Y. Hilton.
The other two players that Reich ruled out were cornerback Kenny Moore (ankle) and veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri (knee). Hilton and Vinatieri weren’t expected to play this week and while Moore didn’t practice all week, it still wasn’t clear if he would be ruled out.
He has, and now the Colts will be without three key players against a tough Bucs team that has won three of their last four games.
The Colts are looking at their playoff hopes dwindle even more as each day passes. The injuries have been nearly insurmountable and while they stayed competitive during the beginning of the season, it seems to have finally had enough of an impact to end their playoff hopes, especially with the team losing four of their last five games.
The Colts will release their injury designations later on Friday, which will give a better idea of the status of others entering the weekend. However, they will be without three key starters on Sunday.
Adam Vinatieri’s season and career could be finished.
The Indianapolis Colts have been dealing with kicking issues throughout the 2019 season with veteran Adam Vinatieri enduring both inconsistency and injuries.
In his 24th season, the most decorated kicker in the history of the league appears to have finally met his match with Father Time. Despite a career of consistency and production, Vinatieri’s 2019 season will forever be looked upon as an outlier.
Dealing with a knee injury that will almost certainly keep him out of the Week 14 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there is a chance this is last we have seen from the 46-year-old.
Vinatieri was asked by media members on Thursday whether he thought he would play again this season. Though he doesn’t have all of the information to give a definitive answer, it was less than encouraging.
“I don’t have an answer,” Vinatieri told reporters. “I don’t know. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow and the next day and the next day.”
Vinatieri did say he had a meeting scheduled with general manager Chris Ballard and the medical staff on Thursday afternoon, which will likely determine whether he plays again this season or goes on the injured reserve list.
It hasn’t been a fun season for Vinatieri, to say the least. His struggles have been well documented as his worst season by far. There was even a point in which a mid-season retirement was a real possibility following another disastrous performance against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2.
Vinatieri has missed 14 combined kicks this season. That includes eight missed field-goal attempts, tied for the most in his career. In addition, Vinatieri has missed six extra-point attempts, which is the most in his career. Before 2019, he hadn’t missed more than three extra-point attempts in any season.
Vinatieri’s struggles have cost the Colts games. There is no way around it. They’ve even held tryouts for kickers on two separate occasions this season.
The Colts aren’t going to cut Vinatieri—not when their season is all but lost and his career is likely over after this campaign. They aren’t going to have the greatest kicker of all-time end his career on a note like that.
But if Vinatieri’s knee injury is significant enough to keep him off of the field for the next month, this is likely the last we have seen from the NFL’s leading scorer.
Adam Vinatieri unlikely to play in Week 14.
Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri is dealing with a knee injury that could keep him out of the Week 14 road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Popping up with a knee injury on the Colts injury report on Wednesday, Vinatieri is reportedly in doubt for the road game after getting an MRI on the knee, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
#Colts K Adam Vinatieri had an MRI on his ailing knee after practice today and his status for Sunday is in doubt, sources tell me and @RapSheet. He’s meeting with team brass and doctors Thursday morning to determine what’s next. They claimed Chase McLaughlin off waivers today.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 5, 2019
Given the potential for Vinatieri to miss Sunday’s game, the Colts claimed 23-year-old kicker Chase McLaughlin off of waivers from the San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday.
Vinatieri has had a rough go of it in what is likely his last season playing football. He’s missed a career-high 14 kicks in just 12 games. Should he miss, it would be just the fourth time in his career he failed to play 16 games.
The Colts are dealing with several injuries everywhere, and it is likely to hit the kicker position on Sunday.
Takeaways from the Week 13 loss.
As crazy as this may sound, I’m not in a place of concern for the Indianapolis Colts (6-6) right now. For them to be in this position, losers of four out of their last five games seem to be fitting a team that, at one point, was thriving under more than unfavorable situations. But of course, the tide begins to change.
Following their 5-2 start to the season, the Colts are once again at the .500 mark as they lost to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Despite possessing a 10-point lead early in the third quarter, the Colts couldn’t build off of it as they allowed the Titans to score 24 points en route to winning 31-17.
Here are five postgame takeaways from the Week 13 loss:
For an offense that was already dealing with various injuries to its biggest contributors, they didn’t need to suffer another one on Sunday. But, of course, you can’t get everything you ask for. During the second quarter, wide receiver Chester Rogers was injured and eventually ruled out of the game, and we discovered why earlier on Monday.
The Colts’ third receiver in command (when everyone is healthy) and starting punt returner suffered a season-ending knee fracture. While Rogers didn’t produce a catch in Sunday’s game, his absence still hurt the Colts’ struggling offense. The Grambling State product is capable of making timely plays that spark their offense and is well-versed in Frank Reich’s offensive scheme.
While football will always remain a team sport, it doesn’t stop certain individuals from being more important than others; especially when their presence alone separates you from the pack. On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts (6-4) witnessed that kind …
While football will always remain a team sport, it doesn’t stop certain individuals from being more important than others; especially when their presence alone separates you from the pack. On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts (6-4) witnessed that kind of player return to action for them and the results were evident.
In his first full game back since Week 8, quarterback Jacoby Brissett produced two touchdowns and led the Colts to a much-needed 33-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6). With the JB7 under center, the first place AFC South leader played their best game in recent weeks and seems to be back on track as six games remain in their season.
Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ 33-13 win over the Jaguars.
Even during Brissett’s good start to this season, there were still various Colts fans and media who weren’t on the bandwagon. After every game, including JB7’s standout performances against the Falcons and Texans, those same people continued to wonder if he was actually capable of being this team’s quarterback.
But after not having the NC State product available for action over the last two weeks, there were little to no complaints from JB7’s doubters as he once again displayed his obvious talent and leadership. Although his final numbers weren’t the best (15/24, 148 passing yards, one passing touchdown to one INT), the Colts’ QB1 impact was still felt throughout Sunday’s game.
Against the Jaguars, we saw the same Brissett who took care of the ball, made the right adjustments pre-snap, and had a couple of sensational plays to either extend or conclude Colts’ offensive drives.
The Colts are putting their faith in Adam Vinatieri.
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The Indianapolis Colts are steadfast in their support of kicker Adam Vinatieri despite his constant struggles throughout the season.
Even though the front office did their due diligence in checking out the available options on the free-agent market — something they’ve done twice this season — head coach Frank Reich told reporters Wednesday they are confident in Vinatieri.
“As far as Adam is concerned, Adam is our kicker. Chris (Ballard) and I have talked about the situation. We have confidence in Adam,” Reich said. “Obviously, there have been other kickers in here working out. We have the confidence in Adam. He is not just our kicker. He is a leader on our team, he is a captain and his presence is important. We feel we need him going forward and have the utmost confidence in him.”
Vinatieri has missed 11 kicks this season: six extra-point attempts and five field-goal tries. His six missed PATs are the most he’s had in a season in his entire 24-year career.
The Colts have been playing in extremely tight games, all of which have been decided by no more than one score. This makes Vinatieri’s job even more vital.
It was unlikely the Colts were going to move on from Vinatieri midseason, and while they’ve been searching, they are putting their faith in the soon-to-be 47-year-old.
What do you think, Colts fans? Is keeping Vinatieri the right move?
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Two starting quarterbacks return to the lineup in a heated AFC South battle. Here are three things to know before kickoff on Sunday.
This Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Indianapolis to face off against the Colts in a heated, critical AFC South match-up. Both teams are hoping to make late-season pushes for the playoffs and remain in the hunt for a wild-card spot. Here are three things to know before kickoff on Sunday:
Both the Jaguars and Colts have been without their starting quarterbacks for some time after injuries sidelined the two, however, for Week 11, both Nick Foles and Jacoby Brissett are set to suit up. For Foles, this will be the first time since the first quarter of Week 1 that the high price free-agent acquisition will get to play.
The Jaguars benched the fan-favorite, Gardner Minshew, in favor of consistency and experience in hopes to spark a late season playoff run. The AFC wild-card race is very much wide open and Doug Marrone and his staff thought Foles gave the team the best chance to take advantage of the weaker AFC. This should be the first time Jags’ fans finally get to see what kind of player Foles really is.
