FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Parker Romo, one of the heroes of the Atlanta Falcons‘ first win of the season, stood in the middle of a postgame interview Sunday night and got a question from reporter Melissa Stark that he might not have expected.
“You’re learning your teammates’ names,” Stark said. “You know their names, right?”
Romo, the new Falcons kicker, looked to his right and saw star running back Bijan Robinson.
“I know Bijan,” Romo said with a laugh.
The guy on Romo’s left? Not so much. Stark had to inform Romo that it was veteran edge rusher Leonard Floyd. Romo and Floyd extended their hands and Floyd said, “Nice to meet you.”
Romo had been with the Falcons for five days at the time, and there were clearly no meet-and-greets before Week 2. The kicker was elevated from the practice squad the day before the game to replace the struggling Younghoe Koo. Romo proceeded to go 5-for-5 on field goals, including a 54-yarder, and was the leading scorer in a 22-6 win on the road against Romo’s former team, the Minnesota Vikings. Koo was released Friday and Romo signed a two-year contract.
“I think everybody knows his name 1758438220,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said.
The Falcons signed Romo to the practice squad Sept. 9 to compete with Koo for the starting role. Koo missed a 44-yard field goal that would have tied the team’s game against the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the closing seconds of Week 1. It was a continuation of Koo scuffling from last season when he missed nine field goals.
Four days after signing Romo, the Falcons brought him up from the practice squad as a standard elevation for Week 2. Koo was a healthy scratch and did not travel with the team.
Romo nearly missed his first kick, a 38-yard try in the first quarter, wide left. But then he settled down. His fifth and final kick was the longest — from 54 yards — and put the Falcons up two scores, 15-6, with 11:16 left in the game.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s cool when you have a player like Parker who comes in, puts his head down [when] he’s in an uncomfortable environment,” Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams said. “Our job as coaches and as an organization is to make him as comfortable as possible and get him onboard as fast as possible, so he could go out there and do his job at the highest level.”
Romo’s five field goals are tied for the second-most ever in a game by a Falcons player. They were also the second-most ever in a debut for an NFL franchise and tied for the most in a kicker’s first game against a former team in league history. Stephen Hauschka had five in 2011 for the Seattle Seahawks against his former Baltimore Ravens mates.
The Vikings gave Romo his first shot in the league last year, and he made 11 of 12 field goals. Romo was with the New England Patriots in training camp but was cut in August when their roster was trimmed down to 53 players. He kicked at Virginia Tech and starred in the XFL in 2023.
Another addendum to Romo’s story is that this is a homecoming for him. Romo is from Peachtree City, Georgia, in southern Metro Atlanta. The night after he signed, Romo had dinner with his father and brother at Ponce City Market, an Atlanta staple. The day before learning he would be elevated for the game, Romo attended the football game of the high school he graduated from: McIntosh.
“I think that’s what a lot of the emotion was last week, just being back in Georgia,” Romo said. “It’s very cool to come back home and have a lot of familiar friends, faces and knowing the area and seeing the Falcons logo again. It’s pretty cool.”
This week, he moved his wife and two kids to Georgia near the team’s facility from Arkansas. The couple also has a baby on the way.
“It’s very busy, but it’s a good busy,” Romo said. “I’m happy to be doing it. It’s always been a dream, so got a lot of support.”
The last few days have also yielded some time to chat with his teammates. On Thursday, Romo introduced himself to star wide receiver Drake London at practice. Romo’s family sat next to London’s family during the Vikings game. The two chatted for a bit Thursday. London said Romo seemed like a “cool dude.”
“Kickers are in a unique situation,” London said. “You can go from not kicking to reviving your career in a second, so it’s crazy. … He helped us win a ‘W.’ I don’t really care who you are. If you help us win a ‘W,’ I mean, that’s amazing and you deserve all the credit in the world. So, he came in, he locked in, and he did his stuff, and we rewarded him for it.”
