Former Patriots Kicker Joins Falcons

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris told reporters after Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a missed game-tying kick from veteran Younghoe Koo that the team would bring in competition to the kicking room for Week 2.

Per Pelissero, multiple kickers came into Atlanta on Tuesday morning to work out for a practice squad spot, a group that included Zane Gonzalez, Michael Badgley and Ben Sauls. Yet, it would be Romo, who was cut by the Patriots earlier last month, to land that opportunity.

Leading up to the 2025 NFL season, the Patriots held a kicking battle between Romo and rookie Andres Borregales throughout training camp and preseason to iron out who would be the starter and one kicker on the roster.

Inevitably, it'd be New England's sixth-round pick from April's draft in Borregales to get that nod, to start for Week 1, while Romo was the odd man out. And so far, it's been a decision that's panned out pretty well for the Patriots. Despite losing in Week 1 to the Las Vegas Raiders, Borregales connected on his one extra point try, as well as a pair of field goals, his longest being from 44 yards.

However, Romo remained a steady competitor throughout Patriots camp, as the veteran would go on to make both of his extra points and a pair of field goals throughout his time in preseason before being one of the many casualties of New England's 53-man cutdown.

Romo is in his second NFL season since coming in as a rookie for the 2024 season with the Minnesota Vikings. During the four games he played, Romo made 11 of his 12 total field goals for a 91.7% success rate, while also going 7/8 on extra point tries in his limited sample size.

Now, Romo gets another opportunity for a starting kicking job in 2025, this time held in Atlanta, where he'll be competing with Koo. The 31-year-old veteran has held down the Falcons' starting kicker job for the past eight years, but comes off a brutal miss in Week 1 which took the wind out of the sails for a divisional comeback win to open their season.