2018 NFL Free Agency Vinatieri Janikowski headline loaded class of kickers

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For the past two weeks here at CBSSports.com, we've taken a look at every po sible position group as the NFL gets ready to head into free agency next month. Well, except for one group, because we decided to save the best for last.After looking at every position to to , we're closing our free agency series with a look at kickers and punters who will be available when the NFL signing period begins on March 14. Now, talking about free agent kickers might not sound that exciting, but if you're a fan, you're definitely going to want to pay attention, because you guys definitely need a kicker. As a matter of fact, there's multiple teams who could benefit from adding a kicker this year, and if you're going to add one, 2018 is definitely the year to do it. We're staring at one of the best free-agent cla ses in recent memory.Let's take a look at who is scheduled to be available when NFL free agency kicks off next month. (Keep in mind, there's a po sibility that this list could change over the next four weeks if any available kicker decides to re-sign with his current team.) Kickers ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (Bears) (Chargers) ( )If any NFL team out is looking to make an upgrade at kicker -- ahem, Chargers and -- this might be the year to do it. Not only is there an abundance of talented kickers, but there's Derick Brassard Women Jersey an abundance of extremely old, talented kickers, who have proven year after year that they're able to regularly hit clutch field goals whenever they're called upon.The free agency list starts with the NFL's oldest player: 45-year-old Adam Vinatieri. Vinatieri has already said that he's , so the only question with him is whether or not he'll be with the Colts in 2018. Although Vinatieri has already said that he wants to stay in Indy, that doesn't nece sarily mean the Colts will want to keep him. The Colts could decide to go younger (and cheaper) at the position by signing someone like Caleb Sturgis. Sturgis was on the Eagles' roster for both years that Frank Reich was in Philadelphia, so it wouldn't be a total shock to see Reich sign someone he's familiar with. Of course, Vinatieri is still on top of his game, even at 45, which might make it difficult for the Colts to move on from him.One kicker who will definitely be testing the free agency waters is Sebastian Janikowski. The Raiders have already to re-sign him, which mean the Polish Rifle is set to become a free agent for the first time in his 18-year career.Although he mi Jared Mccann Jersey sed the 2017 season with a back injury, Janikowski should basically be able to sign wherever he wants, if he's healthy. One thing teams will want to keep an eye on is the fact that he struggled on long kicks in 2016, hitting just 3 of 8 field goals from beyond 50 yards. One of the other big questions surrounding Janikowski is whether or not he'll be willing to take a pay cut. Janikowski's last made him the highest paid kicker in the NFL at the time. If he thinks he's going to get another contract making him the highest-paid kicker, well, that's just not going to happen, and that's mainly because 40-year-old players coming off a season-long injury just can't command that type of money. The 2000 first-round pick, who turns 40 on March 2, made $3 million in 2017 -- down from $4 million -- after before the season. Janikowski will probably be able to command something near that in free agency.The other kicker who will be over 40 when free agency begins next month is Matt Bryant. At 42, Bryant has been one of the top kickers in the NFL over the past few years, and the Falcons would be crazy to let him go. Bryant is until he's 45, and ideally, he'd like to do that in Atlanta, but he seems to realize that it's not his choice. "I'll play two to three more years in this league," Bryant . "There's obviously some curious times ahead to see where those two to three years happen. You know I'd like to finish it here with this organization. I gue s I have a history here, so I'd like to finish it up here. But you don't know." If the Falcons decide to let Bryant walk in free agency, his phone should be ringing off the hook come March 14. One thing to keep in mind though, is that both Bryant and Vinatieri have both spent the past few years playing indoors. At their age, both players would probably prefer to continue to play indoors, or at least in a warm-weathered climate. If both players reach free agency, signing with the Chargers, Vikings or could make some sense. The Bears, and Seahawks could also make sense if they're willing to play in a cold-weathered city.Speaking of the Seahawks, although they've already signed this offseason, they'll likely bring in some competition for the former kicker after getting burnt by in three different games last season. The 9-7 Seahawks could have po sibly made the playoffs if Walsh had hit Calen Addison Jersey any big kicks at all in 2017.Not only did Walsh mi s a potential game-winner from 48 yards against Arizona in Week 17, but he also mi sed three attempts in a 17-14 lo s to Washington in Week 9. Walsh also mi sed a potential game-tying 52-yard field goal in the final seconds of a 34-31 lo s to the Falcons in Week 12. Of course, if the Seahawks had done any research on Walsh over the past two years, they would've known that his biggest weakne s is hitting clutch field goals, so those three lo ses are kind of their fault because they're the ones who signed him. Two other kickers to keep an eye on in free agency are Graham Gano and Ryan Succop. Although Gano struggled with extra points last season -- he mi sed three -- the Panthers kicker was money on field goals. Gano finished the 2017 season as the NFL's most accurate kicker by converting 29 of 30 attempts (96.7 percent). The one knock on Gano is that he's not great from over 50 yards. Gano's lone mi s in 2017 came from 55 yards in Week 8. Also, since the start of the 2014 season, he's hit just 6 of 14 kicks (42.8 percent) from that range. However Kris Letang Women Jersey , he can hit a 60-yard field goal with a snowman as his holder, so there's that. Who says you cant build a snowman AND work on your craft? Snowman hold from 60 . Graham Gano (@GrahamGano) As for Succop, he was the NFL's fourth-most accurate kicker in 2016 and didn't have a big drop-off in 2017. The smart play for both the Panthers and Titans would probably be to just re-sign their kickers, but NFL teams always seem to get a little antsy when it comes to paying their kickers big money, which could hold up any potential deal. By the way, when we say "big money" with kickers, that refers to a deal that would be worth roughly somewhere between $3 million to $4.5 million per year. Others: ( ), (Buccaneers), Blair Walsh (Seahawks), (Buccaneers) Punters ( ) ( ) ( ) (Bears)Although it's starting to look like free agency could get crazy for placekickers this year, that's probably not going to happen with our cla s of free agent punters. Of the four starting punters who are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents in 2018, there's a good chance that three of them -- and probably all four -- will end up re-signing with their old team.Even though he's 41, Lechler finished second in the NFL in punting average last season (49.0 yards per punt) and ranked fifth in the league with 32 punts that were downed inside the 20-yard line. Lechler has been one of the best punters in the NFL over the course of his career, and the Texans would be crazy to let him go. The seven-time Pro Bowler is from Texas, so staying in Houston at this point in his career probably makes the most sense for him. The Bengals are in a similar situation with Kevin Huber. The 32-year-old went to high school and college in Cincinnati, so there's probably zero chance he would want to leave after spending his entire nine-year career with the Bengals. Basically, re-signing Huber makes sense for both sides.As for Colquitt, it's almost guaranteed he'll Alex Galchenyuk Women Jersey end up back in Kansas City, as long as the two sides can find a price that works. In 2013, Colquitt signed a five-year, $18.75 million deal that made him the highest-paid punter in the league at the time. If Colquitt's trying to be the highest-paid punter again, he probably won't get the deal he wants, but it seems likely he'll be back with the Chiefs next season, where he's been since being selected by the team in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Under normal circumstances, O'Donnell would probably be a lock to re-sign with the Bears, but these aren't normal times in Chicago. The team just hired a new coach (Matt Nagy), who brought in his own special teams coordinator (Chris Tabor). As long as Tabor doesn't have his eye on someone else outside the organization to take O'Donnell's place, the 26-year-old punter will likely stick with the team that selected him in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. For more on free agency, just click the position group below to see who might be switching teams in 2018:
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