Colts, Vinatieri agree to contract; Bears sign Griese to five-year deal

The Indianapolis Colts are switching from the NFL's most accurate kicker to the best in the clutch.

Taking a key piece from its rival New England, Indianapolis agreed in principle to a deal with Adam Vin-atieri, the Colts said Tuesday night. Vin-atieri, who twice hit winning kicks in the Super Bowl for the Patriots, replaces former Pro Bowl kicker Mike Vanderjagt.

The Patriots allowed Vinatieri to test free agency rather than putting a franchise designation on him, which would have cost the team $3 million next season.

Vinatieri, 33, had been named the team's franchise player twice, including last year, when he was paid $2.5 million.

Vanderjagt spent all eight of his NFL seasons with the Colts. He made 217 career field goals in 248 attempts, the highest accuracy rate (87.5) in league history.

In 2003, Vanderjagt made all 37 of his field goal attempts, all 46 of his extra point attempts and set the NFL record with 42 consecutive field goals.

But twice he missed critical field goals in the playoffs. In January, he badly missed a 46-yarder in the closing seconds, which would have forced overtime with eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh.

Bears sign Griese

Brian Griese agreed to a five-year deal with the Chicago Bears on Tuesday, adding depth behind Rex Grossman at quarterback.

The 31-year-old Griese completed 112-of-174 passes for 1,136 yards and led Tampa Bay to a 5-1 start last year before a season-ending knee injury.

Falcons acquire Abraham

John Abraham finally got what he wanted when the Jets traded the Pro Bowl defensive end to the Atlanta Falcons in a three-way deal with Denver.

The Broncos had to get involved for the trade to finally take place. Denver and Atlanta swapped No. 1 picks, with the Broncos getting the 15th overall selection and the Falcons getting pick 29. The Falcons sent that pick to the Jets in exchange for Abraham. Atlanta also got middle-round picks in 2006 and 2007.

Seattle lands Peterson

Seattle agreed on the parameters of a seven-year, $54 million contract with San Francisco 49ers free-agent linebacker Julian Peterson.

-- From wire reports