New England Patriots sign kicker John Parker Romo from Minnesota Vikings
FOXBORO – The New England Patriots have added a kicker, signing John Parker Romo to the team's practice squad.
Romo served as the kicker for the Minnesota Vikings for four games this year while their starter, Will Reichard, was hurt.
During that stretch, Romo hit 11 of his 12 field goals and made seven of eight extra points that he attempted.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network was the first to report New England had added Romo to its practice squad.
New England Patriots kickers
Joey Slye, who has been New England's regular kicker this season, is tied for 10th in the league with 22 made field goals. But he has struggled with accuracy, sitting at 29th in the NFL with a 78.6% field goal percentage.
In the closing seconds of the first half against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13, Slye missed badly on a 25-yard field goal attempt. He later came up just short on a seemingly impossible 68-yard field goal attempt as the clock expired.
The Patriots lost to the Colts, 25-24, heading into the team's bye week.
Kicker struggles
New England has struggled at the kicker position in recent years.
The team drafted Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. He was cut before ever playing a game in the NFL after it was learned he had a "Three Percenters" tattoo. The Three Percenters have been labeled an extremist group by the Anti-Defamation League.
Nick Folk solidified the position for the following two seasons, but left for the Titans as rookie Chad Ryland took over in 2023. Ryland struggled and lost the job this year in training camp, while Folk has hit 96.2% of his field goals in the last two seasons with Tennessee.
Ryland has since found a home with the Arizona Cardinals, who the Patriots play Sunday.