Twenty years into a kicking career that launched before the NFL's salary cap era, Colts placekicker Matt Stover becomes a free agent Friday. Absent a contract offer to play in a family-friendly environment, he says he will retire from the game. "I'm willing to let this thing go at the drop of a hat if that's what is best for my family," the former Ravens kicker said. "My heart isn't in it to play just to play. It's to make a difference for a team and create security in a position that maybe somebody else couldn't give them." He signed with the Colts on Oct. 14 when Adam Vinatieri required arthroscopic knee surgery, with Stover's wife and three children staying behind in Baltimore, and to minimize the hardship, he rented a condominium in Indianapolis for family visits and made an arrangement with coach Jim Caldwell to be in Baltimore on Monday and Tuesday each week. "I'm not doing that again," Stover said. "I won't drag my family through another season just to play another year. It's about what's best for my family. I believe physically I can still do it. But it has to be the right fit and I want to be able to help a team get to the Super Bowl. I feel I still add value to a team." Source: Baltimore Sun
