Adam Vinatieri had another rough Sunday afternoon.
The Indianapolis Colts came away with a 19-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, but their two-point victory should have been a four-point triumph had Vinatieri been on his A-game.
The 46-year-old kicker missed two extra points on Sunday, including one on Indy's go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown. It was the second straight week in which Vinatieri had missed multiple kicks; he missed two field goals and an extra point in the Colts' overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, the first time in Vinatieri's career that he had missed two or more FGs and one or more PAT in the same game.
On the year, Vinatieri is 1-for-3 on field goals and 2-for-5 on extra points.
Following Sunday's win, Vinatieri made cryptic comments to Indy reporters potentially regarding his future with the Colts and in football.
The kicker told The Athletic's Stephen Holder that "you'll hear from me tomorrow." When told he was not scheduled to speak to and will not see reporters on Monday, Vinatieri replied, "Yeah, you will."Â
Colts owner Jim Irsay told reporters that Vinatieri's sudden case of the yips is concerning.
"All our fans, like I, hurt with Adam, because no one hurts more than Adam does and it breaks my heart to see it because I know how hard he works. So of course it is a concern," Irsay said, per WISH-TV. "I can't lie to you guys. Anyone would tell you it's a concern. Adam, coach, Chris everyone. Yeah, it's a concern. This league is professional football. We all have to produce. The expectation is to win when you're professional.
"So we've got to figure out where we're at there. And see what coach (Frank Reich) and (general manager) Chris (Ballard) think is the best direction, and I know Adam will be the most self-honest person of all. So we'll just see where we're at."
The oldest player in the league and all-time leader in points scored, Vinatieri signed a one-year deal in January to return to the Colts for this, his 24th NFL season. Vinatieri has been with the Colts for 14 of those seasons after starting his career and growing his star with the Patriots. A four-time Super Bowl champion and three-time All-Pro, Vinatieri could become just the third full-time kicker to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he retires.
At the moment, however, Vinatieri is not kicking like a Hall of Famer -- he's barely booting like an average NFL placekicker -- and both the veteran and the Colts have a decision to make about his immediate future before focusing on his legacy.
