Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski plans to hang around for a while.
"Until they kick me out," he said, via CSN Bay Area.
At 39, the former first-round pick has big plans for the autumn of his career, including a move to Las Vegas whenever the Raiders end up moving to Nevada.
"That's my goal, but it's not my decision."
The Polish wonder, known affectionately as "Seabass", is one of the NFL's last children of the 70s and a true marvel. Nearing his 40s, he's beginning a climb statistically back toward the zenith of his career -- a period between 2009 and 2012 where his field goal percentage bounced between 89.7 percent accuracy all the way to 91.2 percent.
He rebounded from a miserable 2013 (70 percent) to hit on an average of 83 percent over the last three seasons, including a 29-of-35 performance last year with a long of 56. Janikowski told the site he is just now starting to watch film and attend offseason workouts.
Given the mental roadblocks sustained by Buccaneers second-round pick Roberto Aguayo, it's all the more impressive to see what Janikowski accomplished given the burden of expectation. However, it's also a cautionary tale for a Tampa Bay team looking to potentially move on this offseason: Aguayo's 71 percent field goal percentage was actually better than Janikowski's in year one (68 percent), though the Raiders were also far more comfortable testing Janikowski from long range early.
Kicking is a rigorous mental battle unlike anything else in football. As we're watching the Aguayo situation unfold, it reminds us that someone like Janikowski doesn't come around all that often. Let's hope no one is kicking him out anytime soon.
