Longtime kicker Adam Vinatieri has been placed on season-ending injured reserve by the Indianapolis Colts, according to multiple reports Monday.
Vinatieri has been suffering with an ailing left knee all season and reportedly will have surgery.
On Sunday, he missed his first game of the season. Last week, the Colts claimed kicker Chase McLaughlin off waivers.
Vinatieri, who turns 47 on Dec. 28, has not announced whether he will attempt a comeback next season.
He will be a free agent after this season, which has been a struggle for him, with eight missed field goals and six missed PAT attempts.
If Vinatieri doesn’t return, he will retire after 24 years with four Super Bowl championships, as the league’s all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points and a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame undoubtedly waiting for him.
Vinatieri has made 599 of 715 field goal attempts (83.8 percent) and 874 of 898 point-after attempts (97.3 percent) throughout his career, which began with the New England Patriots (1996-2005).
A three-time All-Pro, Vinatieri also is the NFL’s all-time leader in field goals made and is second only to fellow kicker Morten Andersen in games played with 365.