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- Mar 19, 2019
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Vinatieri originally signed with the Colts as a free agent in 2006 after an extremely successful first 10 seasons with the New England Patriots, where he won three Super Bowl titles — two of which, Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII, were clinched thanks to last-second field goals off the right foot of No. 4.
Since that time, just 19 field goals and 50 extra points have been attempted by three Colts players not named Adam Vinatieri:
» On Sept. 17, 2006, with Vinatieri dealing with a groin injury, punter Hunter Smith, who was usually holding field goals and extra points, attempted, and missed, an extra-point try in the Colts’ 43-24 Week 2 victory over the Houston Texans at the RCA Dome. That attempt came after a three-yard touchdown run by Ran Carthon with 2:28 left in the fourth quarter, and Smith would take over Vinatieri’s duties on the ensuing kickoff, as well.
» Still hampered by the groin injury, Vinatieri would sit out the next three games. The Colts signed veteran Martin Gramatica to temporarily handle their kicking duties, and he would connect on his only field goal attempt, as well as all nine extra-point tries, over Weeks 3-5, all Indy wins. Gramatica’s final kick with the Colts, an extra point with 5:14 remaining in the fourth quarter, would be the difference in Indy’s 14-13 home victory over the Tennessee Titans. Vinatieri would re-join the Colts by their next game, and the team would go on to win Super Bowl XLIV over the Chicago Bears, Vinatieri’s fourth-career title.
» The only other instance Vinatieri has missed time with the Colts came in the 2009 season, when he would appear in just six games due to hip and knee injuries. The team signed Matt Stover, who would appear in 13 total games that season between the regular season and the playoffs, connecting on 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) of his field goal attempts, and all 40 of his extra-point tries. Stover hit 1-of-2 field goals and both extra-point attempts in the Colts’ 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010 — the last time Vinatieri has missed a game.