Janikowski Says He’s Not Done Yet

Now that Sebastian Janikowski’s long Raiders career is over, the soon-to-be 40-year-old kicker says he’s not ready to quit.

In an interview with Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group published Thursday, Janikowski says he’s been kicking and working out in preparation for signing with a new team in free agency.

"I/m doing more than I usually do this time of year," he told McDonald. "I usually wait until the beginning of April. Hopefully, it will be a new beginning, a new city. I’ve got some goals to accomplish and I love what I do. I miss it."

He said he has no hard feelings about the Raiders’ decision to move on from his services. As it stands now, Giorgio Tavecchio — if he’s re-signed — would be the team’s kicker in 2018. But Tavecchio didn’t have Janikowski’s consistency in 2017, so the team could go another direction in free agency or the draft.

Though Janikowski was sidelined the entire 2017 season, he was around the Raiders the whole year and could see things were different. The team that went 12-4 in 2016 and fell to 6-10 in 2017 changed. Head coach Jack Del Rio paid the price, getting fired and replaced by Jon Gruden.

"The chemistry was different," he said. "I felt like the guys never got on the same page on offense, defense, special teams. There wasn’t the same emotion or feeling. People were just cruising through it. Jack did a good job. I just feel like some players didn’t take responsibility. You’ve got to commit."

Despite having to find a new team now, Janikowski said it was "an honor and a privilege to wear the silver and black for these past 18 years."