In today’s NFL, teams need a kicker who can make field goals under pressure and make the new 38-yard extra point attempts consistently. Fortunately, the Indianapolis Colts have kicker Adam Vinatieri, who has been very reliable for the team over the past decade. However, the Colts now face a perplexing decision this offseason because the 43-year-old kicker is entering free agency. With reliable kickers becoming harder to find, the Colts must bring Vinatieri back for the 2016 season.
Despite his age, Vinatieri is still kicking the football like he is 25 years old. In fact, Vinatieri is actually getting better with age. Since turning 40 years old before the 2013 season, Vinatieri has made 91.8 percent of his field goals and has only missed three since the start of the 2014 season. He also did not seem to be affected by the longer extra point kicks, making 32 of his 35 extra point attempts this season. The Colts are not going to find another kicker with this sort of efficiency in the 2016 rookie class or in free agency.
If the Colts are serious about making a strong postseason run in 2016, they need to bring Vinatieri back for his 11th season with the team. He is still one of the most reliable kickers in the league today and has a tremendous amount of experience, which includes a lot of game-winning field goals in high pressure situations. More importantly, not many kickers in NFL history have the postseason success Vinatieri has had in his career. His postseason resume speaks for itself and gives the Colts a compelling reason to re-sign him.
At the end of the 2015 season, Vinatieri made it very clear he is not going to retire and wants to play in 2016. The Colts have a decision to make. Will Vinatieri be kicking extra points and field goals for them or a different team? The Colts need to do their very best to make sure Vinatieri is wearing their colors for the 2016 season.
