Akers expects to be kicking next season
David Akers expects to be back in the NFL next season and hopes to be kicking for the Eagles. "Certainly there was never a thought that he wouldn't be playing football," said Akers' agent, Jerrold Colton. Preferably, he said, in Philadelphia. "It's not just a possibility, it's his preference. He's played his whole career here."
David Akers expects to be back in the NFL next season and hopes to be kicking for the Eagles.
"Certainly there was never a thought that he wouldn't be playing football," said Akers' agent, Jerrold Colton. Preferably, he said, in Philadelphia. "It's not just a possibility, it's his preference. He's played his whole career here."
Colton added, "If everything can work out, there's no reason to leave."
The 36-year-old Akers made his fifth Pro Bowl this season, but he hinted that he might be out of Philadelphia after missing two crucial field goals in the Eagles' wild-card loss to the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 9.
"Looking back now, 12 years, it's been a nice run. It's not really the way I wanted to go out as an Eagle," an emotional Akers told reporters after the game, raising questions about his future. Akers has played 189 games for the Eagles, the most in team history, but his contract expires in March. He has never reached the end of a contract without an extension, Colton said. That contributed to Akers' comments after the playoff loss, as did a "family health matter," which added to the emotion of missing two key kicks.
"His kind of feeling was that this could be the end," Colton said Tuesday.
Coach Andy Reid's harsh assessment of Akers added to the questions about whether the kicker might have played his last game for the team. Reid, who almost never criticizes his players publicly, pointed a finger directly at Akers.
"We can all count. Those points would have helped," Reid said after the Eagles lost to Green Bay, 26-21.
Akers' playoff misses, from makeable distances of 34 and 41 yards, are cause for concern, but the Eagles would be hard-pressed to find someone else as reliable. Akers hit 84 percent of his field goals in the regular season, his second-best total in the last six years.
It wouldn't be entirely unusual to make a change, though. The Steelers switched kickers at midseason and the Jets changed after making the AFC championship game last year. Those teams will be in the AFC title game on Sunday.
Akers, who signed a contract extension in 2005, made $1.65 million in base salary in 2010, on the high end of the scale for kickers. The Colts' Adam Vinatieri, considered the most clutch kicker in the game, made $2 million, as did the Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski.
AFC Pro Bowl kicker Billy Cundiff of the Ravens made $1.2 million. Cundiff and Vinatieri both have expiring contracts but are likely to re-sign with their current teams.
It could be some time before the Eagles make a decision on Akers. While the team can re-sign its own free agents, the front office has been cautious about extending contracts because of the uncertainty surrounding the NFL's new collective bargaining agreement. The Eagles cannot explore free agents until March 4, although a lockout could begin that day, freezing all player movement.
A team spokesman declined to comment on Akers' situation.
During the season the Eagles and Akers discussed a contract extension, but the deal was not completed.
"Where we were just made it not make sense to have the dialogue," Colton said.
The "family health matter," Colton said, would not prevent Akers from returning to the football in 2011.
"No effect on football for him," Colton said.
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