The Atlanta Falcons vowed to go out and add competition and insurance for Younghoe Koo after workouts, and they accomplished that pretty quickly. Per NFL insider Tom Pelissero, they’ve added former Vikings and Patriots kicker John Parker Romo to the practice squad, with a corresponding move pending.
Parker Romo, a 28 year-old former undrafted free agent, started his career with the Saints, hit the XFL, and had cups of coffee with the Bears and Lions before signing with the Vikings in March 2024. He was cut in July and re-signed after an injury in November, going 11 for 12 on field goals (with one miss from the 40-49 yard range) and 7 of 8 on extra point tries. He was solid on kickoffs, too, but Minnesota loves kicker Will Reichard and Parker Romo lost a competition in New England this summer to rookie Andres Borregales, who went 2/3 in his NFL debut, so he was available.
There’s a relatively small sample size to work off of here, but between the XFL and NFL, Parker Romo has been accurate and has shown a quality leg, hitting his lone 50-plus try in 2024 and connecting from 57 in a then-longest XFL field goal try. Right now, the Falcons are getting him in the building to ensure they have a fallback option a phone call away—and if they’re really worried, they could even elevate him on Sunday against his former team—but if Younghoe Koo continues to struggle, Parker Romo is the man set to replace him.
Koo, of course, had a rough Sunday in the season opener. He badly missed the game-tying 44 yard field goal, was fortunate to doink a 36 yarder in, and was penalized for missing the landing zone on a kickoff. After he struggled mightily in 2024, Koo simply doesn’t have that much time to right the ship and show he should keep the job; I’m rooting hard for him to do it but it’s hard to be optimistic given the recent track record.
Give Parker Romo a warm welcome and we’ll see what comes next.
