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NFL notebook: Vinatieri, 45, re-ups with Colts

[February 23, 2018] Adam Vinatieri agreed to a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday, and he will play a 23rd NFL season in 2018.

Vinatieri, 45, is 58 points from passing the NFL all-time scoring leader, Morten Anderson, and has 20 or more field goals (60 points) in 21 of his first 22 seasons. Vinatieri spent 10 seasons with the New England Patriots before joining the Colts as an unrestricted free agent.

Andersen has 2,544 career points. Vinatieri sits at 2,487 after making 29 of his 34 field-goal attempts last season.

--Quarterback Drew Brees is committed to returning to the New Orleans Saints, and the feeling appears to be mutual.

Brees could become a free agent next month if the two sides are unable to agree on terms of a new contract, but progress is expected to be made next week during the NFL Scouting Combine.

Brees turned 39 one day after the Minnesota Vikings' improbable last-second touchdown eliminated the Saints from the playoffs.

--Tyrod Taylor could be back with the Buffalo Bills in 2018.

Taylor is due $6 million the first week of the 2018 league year, but NFL Network reported it's not a forgone conclusion the Bills will part with the quarterback.

Taylor turns 29 in August and started 43 games over the past three seasons with the Bills, compiling a 51-16 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He said he has no intention of restructuring his contract after making adjustments to his deal in 2017 to lower his guaranteed salary from $30.75 million.

--Josh Gordon's future is in the hands of new Browns general manager John Dorsey.

NFL Network reported Gordon will be an exclusive rights free agent, all but eliminating his ability to move on during the 2018 offseason. Gordon could have hit the market as a restricted free agent, but due to suspensions for drug use, his freedom is nearly non-existent.

If the Browns offer the former supplemental draft pick out of Baylor a qualifying, one-year deal, his options are limited to signing it or sitting out the entire season. Gordon played five games in 2014, missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons and was reinstated from NFL ban in November 2017. He played in only five games last season.

--Kicker Nick Folk was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Folk ended last season on injured reserve with left knee tendinitis he first experienced in October. He was the team's primary placekicker for the first four games of the season; he was replaced by Patrick Murray. Folk said last week he was medically cleared.

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An 11-year veteran who kicked for the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and Buccaneers, Folk has connected on 245 of his 305 field-goal tries and 342 of his 346 extra-point attempts.

--While standout left guard Andrew Norwell is also slated to test free agency, kicker Graham Gano is more likely to be the recipient of a franchise tag from the Carolina Panthers, according to a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Tagging Norwell would cost the Panthers north of $14 million, a much steeper price than what keeping Gano would entail.

Gano, 30, has been with the Panthers since 2012. He hit 29 of his 30 field-goal attempts and 34 of 37 extra-point attempts last season and was named to his first Pro Bowl. Overall, Gano has connected on 85.3 percent of his field-goal attempts across his six seasons with Carolina.

--The Seattle Seahawks would like to retain defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, but using the franchise tag is unlikely, NFL Network reported.

Tagging Richardson would cost the Seahawks about $14 million, which is roughly the amount of projected salary cap space the team will have in 2018.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said at the end of the season that he would like to bring Richardson back, while the defender himself said last month he expects to return to Seattle.

--Police have halted their investigation into an incident involving a car registered to Buccaneers wide receiver DeSean Jackson that was found with bullets and marijuana inside, the Tampa Police Department said.

"The case is currently inactive because we don't have any witnesses or evidence to place the driver behind the wheel at the time of the crash," a Tampa Police Department spokeswoman wrote in a statement.

Furthermore, police see Jackson as a victim in the incident, saying his friend, Therrian Fontenote, was behind the wheel at the time of the December crash. Jackson has said he was out of town when the accident occurred and that the vehicle was borrowed without his permission.

--Field Level Media

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