Adam Vinatieri decides to return for 21st NFL season and perhaps more

The clutchest kicker in NFL history isn’t ready to hang it up.

Adam Vinatieri, the oldest player in football, told IndyStar on Tuesday he intends on playing a 21st NFL season this coming fall — and perhaps several more. He’ll be 43 when training camp opens in August.

While Vinatieri hinted late in the season he was leaning toward returning, he wanted to weigh the decision after the year ended with his wife and children before making anything official.

Now he has. Now he knows for sure: He wants to keep playing.

For which team Vinatieri is kicking for remains to be seen — he’ll soon be a free agent — but all signs point to an 11th season in Indianapolis. If the Colts do indeed elect to re-sign Vinatieri, that means he’ll have spent more of his career in Indy (11 seasons) than in New England (10 seasons).

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And Vinatieri isn’t just thinking of playing in 2016. He’s thinking he’s got more than one season left in the tank.

“Not only a season, but Lord willing, a couple of years,” he told IndyStar. “There will come a time when it’s over for me. I don’t think that time is yet. I enjoy playing. I enjoy doing my thing.”

Vinatieri has done his thing quite well over the past few seasons. Across 58 field goal attempts in 2014 and 2015, he missed just three times. He drilled two game-winners this season, was named the AFC’s Special Teams Player of the Month in November and, in December, made the 500th kick of his career, an accomplishment only three players in history can claim.

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After a 30-for-31 season in 2014, Vinatieri missed just twice this year — in Weeks 1 and 2 — and finished 25-for-27, good enough for fourth in the league with a 92.5 percent clip. He's now tallied 26 game-winners in his Hall-of-Fame-worthy career.

He may be getting older.

He’s also, it seems, getting better.

Beginning March 7, teams can begin negotiating with free agents. Contracts cannot be officially signed until March 9.

“After taking a little bit of downtime, I’ve been keeping up with the Colts picking up some coaches,” Vinatieri said of the nine new assistant coaches the Colts will welcome for 2016. “I know they’ve been really busy. I just figure they’ll call me when it’s time.”

Relatively speaking, it should be a simple negotiation: Vinatieri doesn’t want to play anywhere else, and he’s proven in recent years he’s still among the very best at his position. With punter Pat McAfee, Vinatieri forms one of the league’s most effective kicking tandems.

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Not insignificant to Vinatieri’s decision, he said, was the Colts’ decision to retain coach Chuck Pagano.

“I would hate to be starting over again (with a new coaching staff),” Vinatieri said. “I was happy to see (Pagano) stay, to see that nucleus intact.”

Also in play: Vinatieri is chasing history. He is currently third all-time in made field goals (503), trailing Morten Anderson’s 565 and Gary Anderson’s 538. Vinatieri wants to finish on top. If it takes a few years, so be it.

Vinatieri currently ranks sixth all-time in games played (306). Morten Anderson is the all-time leader with 382.

Vinatieri was passed last month by former teammate Tom Brady for the NFL’s all-time record in playoff appearances (Brady now has 31; Vinatieri, 30). Both also are the only active players with four Super Bowl wins. Another triumph for either would tie Charles Haley for the most in NFL history. Vinatieri is also the Colts’ all-time leading scorer and the only player in league history to score more than 1,000 points with two teams.

He did enjoy Sunday’s Super Bowl. A day after watching his former coach (Tony Dungy) and teammate (Marvin Harrison) earn election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Vinatieri watched a former teammate, Peyton Manning, presumably end his career with another championship.

“It was bittersweet, because it’s hard to watch the playoffs when you’re not in them,” Vinatieri said. “But I’m happy to see Peyton go out on a high note. If that’s his last game, he’ll go out with a big smile.”

As for Vinatieri’s last game, he’s not ready for that conversation just yet.

Call IndyStar reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134. Follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.