Colts' Adam Vinatieri Says He's Trying to Overcome 'Demons' Amid Kicking Woes

Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri is hoping to clear his mind in an attempt to overcome his early-season struggles. 

"I'm going to work a lot this week to get those demons so I can go clearheaded, step on the field and just do my job," Vinatieri said Tuesday, per ESPN's Mike Wells.

The future Hall of Famer has been uncharacteristically out of sorts to start the 2019 campaign. He's missed two of his three field-goal attempts and is just 2-of-5 on extra-point kicks.

Both of the missed field goals came in Indianapolis' Week 1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Vinatieri's three missed extra points match his 2018 total in 47 attempts. Following Sunday's 19-17 win over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium, the 46-year-old appeared to tease a retirement announcement. 

Per The Athletic's Stephen Holder, Vinatieri said we would "hear from [him] tomorrow [Monday]." NFL players normally have Mondays after games off. 

Colts head coach Frank Reich told reporters during Monday's conference call that Vinatieri will remain the team's kicker: "Just want to make this clear: Adam's our kicker. Like I said yesterday, we have zero concern. He's not only our kicker, he's an instrumental leader on our team."

Per Wells, Vinatieri said he wasn't considering retirement and that his comments Sunday were "one [of] those situations that I was walking out of the locker room." 

Now in his 24th NFL season, Vinatieri has been a model of consistency on special teams. He's made at least 85 percent of his field goals in each of the previous six years and has only missed 21 extra points in 875 attempts with the Colts and New England Patriots.