Ink on Indy
Fansided

Colts: Could Adam Vinatieri enter NFL Hall of Fame as a Colt?

By Pierre Wilson

facebooktwitterreddit

Though most of his memorable kicks happened as a member of the New England Patriots, could Adam Vinatieri enter HOF as a member of the Indianapolis Colts?

Mr. Clutch. Automatic Adam. Iceman. Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri has plenty of nicknames. Most of these nicknames were earned during his nine seasons with the New England Patriots.

As many know, Vinatieri has kicked several clutch field goals in NFL history. Two game winning kicks in Super Bowl XXXVI and XXXVIII, as well as the game-tying and winning kicks in the blizzard conditions known as the “Tuck Rule Game”.

Mr. Clutch added another game-winning kick on Sunday afternoon, lifting the Colts to a 16-13 overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Colts fans breathed a sigh of relief having the 42-year-old veteran, after watching Jags kicker Jason Myers, miss multiple chances to put away Indianapolis.

The victory on Sunday made Adam Vinatieri the first player in NFL history to score 1,000+ points for 2 different teams (1,158 for Patriots; 1,004 for Colts). I was stunned that margin was so close.

Oct 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri (4) celebrates with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) after making a game winning field goal against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeats Jacksonville 16-13 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps I just assumed that Vinatieri had many more years kicking for the Patriots? Or maybe the pain of losing to the Patriots year after year, during their Super Bowl runs, led me to believe AV spent an eternity kicking for the dark side?

More from Indianapolis Colts

Truth be told, Vinatieri has now spent 9 seasons apiece, kicking for the Patriots (1996-2005) and the Colts (2006-present). So is it far fetched that the first ballot Hall of Famer could enter the hall of fame as a Colt and not a Patriot?

The main obstacle is obviously Super Bowls. 3 championships with the Pats, compared to 1 with the Colts is hard to trump. However, what if Vinatieri wins another championship with Indianapolis?

Let’s not forget that the New England Patriots and Vinatieri split in 2006. That the Patriots decided to turn to rookie Stephen Gostkowski, instead of bringing back the man that helped win them 3 Super Bowls.

There’s still debate of whether New England let Vinateri walk, of if he simply wanted out of New England. Many believe Vinatieri was upset the Pats franchise tagged him at the end of the 2004 season. A season where he hit 93.9% of his field goals and all of his PATs in the regular season.

Vinatieri perhaps felt slighted he wasn’t offered a long-term deal and chose to sign with the Colts once he became an unrestricted free agent.

Could that treatment linger in Vinatieri’s mind if he has a choice for the Hall of Fame? And if so, could he choose to enter as an Indianapolis Colt?

Next: Colts win ugly surviving the Jaguars in OT 16-13

More from Ink on Indy

Home/Indianapolis Colts