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Colts Sign Hero Kicker Vinatieri Away From Patriots
The Patriots let kicker Adam Vinatieri test the free-agent market. Now he's off to Indy.
The NFL's most accurate kicker failed the Colts in the clutch. By signing Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis not only addressed that problem, it also took a key piece away from nemesis New England.
Indianapolis has agreed in principle to a deal with Vinatieri, the team announced Tuesday night on its Web site. The Colts make the switch from Mike Vanderjagt - who misses less than anyone - to the kicker who never misses when it matters most.
Vinatieri has hit two winning kicks in the Super Bowl for the Patriots. Vanderjagt's career accuracy rate is the best in the NFL, but twice he has missed critical field goals in the playoffs.
One of those also happened to be his last kick for Indianapolis: In January, Vanderjagt badly missed a 46-yarder in the closing seconds that would have forced overtime with eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh.
Terms of Vinatieri's deal were not immediately available. Messages left with the Patriots and agents for Vinatieri by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.
The Patriots allowed Vinatieri to test free agency rather than putting a franchise designation on him, which would have cost the team $3 million next season.
"It just didn't feel like the right thing to do," coach Bill Belichick said last month at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "We considered all our options and decided not to tag anybody."
Vinatieri, 33, had been named the team's franchise player twice, including last year, when he was paid $2.5 million.
Vanderjagt joined the Colts in 1998 and spent all eight of his NFL seasons with Indianapolis after playing the previous two years in the Canadian Football League. With the Colts, he scored a franchise record 995 points and made 217 career field goals in 248 attempts, the highest accuracy rate (87.5) in league history.
In 2003, Vanderjagt made all 37 of his field goal attempts, all 46 of his extra point attempts and set the NFL record by making 42 straight field goals.
His other big miss came in January 2000, when a 49-yarder that would have sent the Colts into the second round of the playoffs went wide right.
Team president Bill Polian acknowledged last month it was unlikely the Colts would re-sign Vanderjagt, an unrestricted free agent.
"He'll probably elect to go somewhere else, so that's probably a position we'll have to fill," Polian said at the NFL's annual scouting combine.
Vanderjagt won't have a choice now. He reportedly has visited Miami, and has drawn interest from the Green Bay Packers.
What the Colts are getting in Vinatieri, though, is the most reliable postseason kicker in recent memory.
The Patriots won three Super Bowls in four years, and Vinatieri was a primary reason. He kicked the game-winner in 2002 with no time left to beat the St. Louis Rams, then beat Carolina in the '04 game on another last second kick; his field goal midway through the fourth quarter of the '05 title game turned out to be the difference in a victory over Philadelphia as well.
A descendant of Gen. George Custer and a third cousin of Evel Knievel, Vinatieri once caught Herschel Walker from behind and tackled him. He hasn't had to hear about being "just a kicker" since then.
Vinatieri made 94 percent of his field goal attempts and all of his extra points in 2004 to lead the NFL with 141 points and make his second Pro Bowl. Last season, he went 20-for-25 on field goals and missed one of 41 extra point attempts.
In his career, he is 263-for-321 for field goals while missing even of 374 extra points for 1,156 points. And he did it kicking in one of the NFL's most inhospitable environments.
To Vinatieri, and many others, the most impressive kick in his resume wasn't to win a Super Bowl, but a 45-yarder in a driving snowstorm to tie a 2002 playoff game against Oakland. He also made a 23-yarder in overtime to win that one.
Now, he will be kicking indoors.
The Colts also will get a different attitude.
Vinatieri has been mostly quiet, a stark contrast from Vanderjagt, who often caused ripples within the organization for his outspoken comments and antics.
In January 2003, Vanderjagt criticized quarterback Peyton Manning for not showing enough emotion and coach Tony Dungy for being too nice. Manning later responded by calling Vanderjagt an "idiot kicker."
The two later patched up their differences, and Vanderjagt acknowledged he was worried then that the Colts may release him. Instead, they stayed with Vanderjagt.
But after missing the field goal against Pittsburgh, Vanderjagt then attempted a 46-yard field goal on the David Letterman Show, a tactic that created some consternation within the organization.
Vinatieri is the third big name to leave the Patriots since free agency began. Last week, defensive end Willie McGinest signed with the Cleveland Browns and receiver David Givens signed with the Tennessee Titans.
It's also the first major free agency signing for the Colts this year. They had previously lost two-time NFL rushing champ Edgerrin James to Arizona, starting linebacker David Thornton to Tennessee and defensive tackle Larry Tripplett to Buffalo.
Source: AP