The Atlanta Falcons are just over 24 hours away from a massive Sunday Night Football clash with the Minnesota Vikings, but that didn't stop them from making a last-minute special teams change on Saturday.
The NFL Network's Tom Pelissero was the first to report that the Falcons are planning to elevate recently signed kicker John Parker Romo from the practice squad to the active roster. It only took fellow insider Ian Rapoport a few minutes after that to give the reason behind the move, adding that "Younghoe Koo will not travel" and has been ruled out of Week 2.
Falcons Rule Out Younghoe Koo, Elevate John Parker Romo for Week 2
The fact that Koo's absence doesn't come with an injury designation is fairly telling about where he stands with the Falcons. His status was already murky once Atlanta started eyeing kickers this week after Koo missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt in the season opener, and the latest development further supports the idea that his job is up for grabs.
Pelissero was also the first to report on Tuesday that the Falcons signed Romo to their practice squad. The 28-year-old special teamer displayed plenty of reliability with the Minnesota Vikings last season, as he connected on 11-of-12 (91.7%) FG attempts in four appearances, with the longest of the bunch being a 55-yarder. He also went 7-of-8 (87.5%) on extra-point tries.
Now, Romo gets a chance to show the Vikings what they missed out on by not retaining him when he returns to U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend. Minnesota waived the former Virginia Tech product in December before he spent some time on the New England Patriots practice squad, so there's a good chance revenge is still fresh on his mind.
Romo only played one game at the Vikings' home stadium before being cut, which is when he made his lone 50-plus-yard kick against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. Hopefully, he has similar success to help the Falcons avoid a 0-2 start to the season. If he's successful and doesn't make any obvious mistakes, Atlanta might have no choice but to roll with him again in Week 3.
In other words, it's easy to see how Koo's future with the Falcons will hinge on the Week 2 collision, even if he isn't playing.