Colts To Work Out Kickers

After another difficult outing from future Hall-of-Famer Adam Vinatieri on Sunday, the Colts are working out free agent kickers today, as Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Graziano says the team has not made any decision with respect to Vinatieri, but Indianapolis wants to see what’s available in case it elects to move on from the 46-year-old.

It sounds as if the Colts will consider cutting Vinatieri if they are sufficiently impressed by one of the kickers they’re bringing in for a tryout. If that happens, it would be an unceremonious end to a brilliant career, but Indianapolis cannot afford to keep Vinatieri around because of what he’s accomplished in the past. In 2019, the four-time Super Bowl champ has directly contributed to several of the Colts’ four losses — including Sunday’s home loss to the previously 1-7 Dolphins — and he has missed a whopping six extra points and five field goals.

After the second game of the 2019 season, a game in which he missed two PATS in a narrow win over the Titans, Vinatieri sounded like a man contemplating retirement. He ultimately elected to continue playing, and the Colts have stood by him, but after the defeat to Miami, it was easy to see that head coach Frank Reich‘s patience was wearing thin. Now, it’s unclear whether Vinatieri has already attempted the last kick of his 24-year NFL tenure.

We will pass along the names of the kickers the Colts are trying out when they become available.

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