Falcons ‘Still Evaluating’ Best Option At Kicker Ahead Of Vikings Matchup

After a devastating miss that put a dagger in the Atlanta Falcons chances to start the season with a victory, the team brought in a host of veteran kickers during the week to compete with encumbent Younghoe Koo.

The Falcons settled on Parker Romo, who was 11 of 12 on field goals for the Minnesota Vikings. He joined Lenny Krieg on the practice squad, but Atlanta wasn't giving anything away ahead of Sunday Night's game.

“We are still evaluating.” Special teams coordinator Marquice Williams said Friday when asked about the starting kicker position. “We are still going through the process with our kickers when it comes to who is going to be kicking this weekend, and we will make a decision as we go on.”

Williams spoke highly of Romo, who attended McIntosh High School out of Peachtree City.

“Leg strength, his accuracy, his experience, his poise,” Williams mentioned when asked what they like about the new kicker. “We are happy that we have Parker in the building.”

With only 12 field goal attempts in his career, Romo has missed just one kick, a 43-yarder against the Arizona Cardinals last year. He has made multiple stops across the NFL, even spending a stint in the XFL for the 2023 season, before joining Atlanta's practice squad this week. 

“He came into a situation last year when he took over for Will Reichard in Minnesota, and he did a great job,” Williams said. “Joining a team in the middle of the season, that is stress, that is some type of adversity…so to see him do that…I like his attitude.” 

With Koo coming off his worst year of his seven-year career, the Falcons seem to be running low on patience, still waiting for the once uber-reliable leg to get back to being trustworthy. Over his past nine games, the Koo holds a field goal percentage of just over 66%, far off from his 85.8 career mark. 

“There is no easy equation to it,” Williams said of his struggles. “As a kicker, whatever the case may be, you get judged off makes and misses. We missed our last one last week, and that’s not our standard here in Atlanta.” 

While Koo has had the benefit of the doubt before, and a resume that outweighed recent struggles, it seems as if he is now on thin ice, battling for a job he has had a strong hold on for years. Entering the weekend, the Falcons are likely to need every point possible against a good Vikings opponent.

Teams are required to name practice squad elevations by 4:00 p.m. EST on Saturday before a Sunday game. While it's unlikely the Falcons would carry two kickers, naming Romo or Krieg to the 48-man game day roster doesn't guarantee Koo won't kick. But the full list of inactives 90 minutes before the 8:20 p.m. kickoff should let us know for sure.