Falcons replace Koo with Romo for Sunday night at Minnesota

The Atlanta Falcons ruled veteran kicker Younghoe Koo out of Sunday night's game at Minnesota and elevated Parker Romo to handle kicking duties, the team announced Tuesday. Falcons officials said Koo's absence is not injury related and he did not travel with the team to Minneapolis, where kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. Eastern.

The move follows Koo's missed 44-yard field goal in the final seconds of Atlanta's 23-20 season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a miss that sealed the defeat and intensified scrutiny of a position that has been inconsistent. Head coach Raheem Morris said the team would bring in competition after the game. "You either make it or you don't, and we have to have guys in a position to make them," Morris said Monday. He added that the club planned workouts this week to identify kickers who could push or replace Koo.

Romo, a Fayette County native who spent part of last season with the Minnesota Vikings, was signed to the Falcons' practice squad earlier this week and has been elevated to the active roster, according to team communications and multiple reports. In four games with Minnesota in 2024, Romo made 11 of 12 field-goal attempts and converted...