Indianapolis Colts placekicker Adam Vinatieri has started his 2019 so slow people thought he'd retire at the young age of 46. Through three games, the NFL's all-time leader in points has made one of three field goals attempts and two of five PAT attempts.
The kicker he passed to became the all-time point leader, Hall of Famer Morten Andersen, retired at 47; Vinatieri will be 47 in December. Andersen was able to kick in his last season, but because of a lack of knee cartilage, it physically became hard to do.
Said Andersen, via The Athletic's Mike Sando:
“For me, when I got back and tried to kick for my 26th season, it was strictly physical. I knew in March I was done. I didn’t tell anybody until I retired in December because I tried to come back, but I didn’t have enough cartilage in my right knee.”
After watching Vinatieri's three misses from last Sunday, Andersen doesn't believe the Colts kicker is suffering through something physically and will “figure that out.”
“First of all, it’s a blip on the radar screen when you talk about Adam’s career,” Andersen said. “It’s not an ideal way to start, but unless something is wrong physically, I think Adam will figure that out,” said Andersen.
Vinatieri will need to figure something out soon. While Indianapolis narrowly escaped Tennessee with a win on Sunday, the great kicker did far more to help them lose thanwin. Though not retired at the moment, it's fair to wonder if he's nearing it considering his recent lack of success.
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