For the first time since 2005, the Indianapolis Colts seem poised to enter a season without Adam Vinatieri as their placeholder.
Speaking to local media Wednesday morning, GM Chris Ballard hinted at the team’s new direction, saying the kicker position will come down to a training camp battle between late-season replacement Chase McLaughlin of 2019 and 2020 undrafted free agent Rodrigo Blankenship.
Vinatieri, who is not under contract, was not mentioned.
About an hour later, Colts coach Frank Reich was asked directly about Vinatieri’s status with the team. He only said the 47-year-old is still recovering from the knee injury that ended his 2019 campaign prematurely.
Earlier this offseason, Vinatieri expressed interest in returning for a 25th season in the NFL. He said to Mike Chappell of Fox59: “I would like to play again, but if not, that is part of the deal. If after 24 years you are not at peace with what you have done in your career, then you are an idiot … I did not like the way it ended last year, but I am not disappointed in my career. ”
It seems that if Vinatieri has the opportunity to correct the mistakes of a 2019 season that went wrong, it will be in another city.
For some Colts fans, this apparent decision to leave Vinatieri after 14 seasons comes a year too late. Although he certainly headed to Canton one day to be inducted into the Professional Soccer Hall of Fame, there is no doubt that Vinatieri’s brutal 2019 campaign contributed powerfully to the Colts’ disappointing 7-9 finale.
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Vinatieri endured the worst season of his career, losing 14 kicks, eight field goals and six extra points, including some ground shots against the Chargers, Titans and Steelers in the first half of the season. Despite his repeated problems, the Colts stayed with Vinatieri until he entered the reserve injured late in the season.
Obviously, last season is not the way Vinatieri or someone within the Colts franchise wanted his term in Indianapolis to end. Ultimately, however, it shouldn’t affect your legacy.
The 14 failures in 2019 will surely not be big enough to overshadow Vinatieri’s critical role in the 2005 Super Bowl season, his notable 2014 All-Pro campaign (at age 42), or his 23-year journey to become the NFL’s all-time leader in scoring points in 2018, among other career highlights.
Still, with those past successes, the Colts must now focus on the future of the position. To that end, they have a couple of possible successors lined up at McLaughlin and Blankenship. The two candidates, Reich said, will meet face-to-face at training camp to win the old role of Vinatieri.
Reich intends to confront the two in what many would consider Vinatieri’s specialty: high-stress situations. The Colts coach explained that he will do everything possible to fabricate those situations during and after practice. One can be sure that without the additional testing of preseason games, the performance of kickers during these high-stress situations will determine who wins the competition.
“They will get all their normal routines,” said Reich. “But as a team, we will create more team atmosphere, team kick drills that will intensify and weigh more heavily on the kicking competition.”
Although Reich did not present a “favorite” to win the battle, McLaughlin surely has an advantage because it is a somewhat proven NFL product. Last season, the undrafted free agent performed admirably in what amounted to a four-game audition with the Colts after Vinatieri succumbed to injury. Arriving in Indianapolis in the high-pressure role of replacing the kicker that many consider the best of all time, McLaughlin drilled 5 of 6 field goals and his 11 extra points in those games. His performance in Vinatieri’s place earned him a one-year contract with the Colts immediately after the season.
Of course, the man they call “Hot Rod” also brings an impressive resume into battle. For four years in the SEC power in Georgia, Blankenship was a model of precision and consistency. He connected with his 200 extra points and ended his Bulldog career with an 82.5% field goal and the school’s top scorer.
For his efforts, and to keep him away from other teams, the Colts gave Blankenship a signing bonus of $ 20,000, a sizable number among undrafted free agents. Despite McLaughlin’s current state, Blankenship’s price and Reich’s comments predict that it should be an equal and open competition for the job.
Follow IndyStar Colts initiate Jim Ayello on Twitter: @jimayello.
