ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting (via Twitter) that Colts K Adam Vinatieri is expected to miss the next six weeks while he recovers from a knee injury. As a result, Indianapolis will sign free agent K Matt Stover to a short term deal as a replacement for Vinatieri, according to Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports.

Obviously, the Colts would prefer to have Vinatieri handling the kicking duties, but they didn’t do too bad in finding a quick replacement for him in Stover, who was accurate and reliable during his long tenure in Baltimore.

It’s doubtful that Stover will stay on with Indianapolis once Vinatieri’s healthy, but he now has an opportunity to prove he still has the ability to kick well enough to play in the league. If he does well, look for Stover to sign on elsewhere when his time with the Colts runs out.

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