Parker Romo Signs with New Team
Former Minnesota Vikings kicker Parker Romo wouldn’t last long on the waiver wire — everyone knew it.
Parker Romo Signs with New Team
And folks’ predictions were vindicated on Tuesday when the New England Patriots reportedly scooped Romo for their practice squad.
Romo will be a Patriot.
The NFL Network‘s Mike Garafolo tweeted Tuesday, “The Patriots are expected to sign K John Parker Romo to the practice squad, one day after he cleared waivers from the Vikings, sources say. Romo went 11-for-12 on field-goal attempts for Minnesota while Will Reichard was injured. Latches on quickly in New England.”
The Patriots already employ veteran kicker Joey Slye, so Romo likely won’t grab a full-time job immediately. Slye even made a 63-yard field goal a couple of months ago. Against the Colts, however, in Week 12, Slye missed two kicks, and the Patriots lost by a single point.
Romo appears to be kicking insurance for Slye, and New England had an open practice squad spot for him, which the Vikings evidently did not.
In Minnesota, Romo served as the Vikings’ primary kicker from Week 10 to 13 after the usual specialist, Will Reichard, hit injured reserve with a quad ailment. He delivered every step of the way, acting as the only scoring source in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars a few weeks ago and nailing a game-winning field goal at Chicago in Week 12.
The Vikings cut Romo loose last weekend when Reichard was activated to the active roster following his quad injury recovery.
Purple fans will reminisce on Romo’s dependability. Ordinarily, a kicker holding down the fort for an NFL team is “no big deal.” However, Minnesota has been notoriously snakebitten by kicker tomfoolery in the last three decades, so when Romo showed up and drilled kicks with ease, he pleasantly surprised onlookers.
The team’s loyalists already enjoy tracking former Vikings players — Romo’s next chapter(s) will be supersized with intrigue. Think of it this way: outside of the Ryan Longwell era, fans have chanted for a reliable kicker since the late 1990s. Minnesota had two, and NFL teams rarely employ multiple kickers.
Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said about Romo last week, “He maximized this opportunity, and surely enough, it is going to propel his career forward. I truly know that. The way this kicker thing is going this year, surely enough, if he’s not with us, he’s gonna be somewhere, for sure. Hopefully he’s not playing against us.”
New England ranks 14th per special teams DVOA through 14 weeks and 25th in field goal kicking percentage.
Perhaps the practice squad contract between the Patriots and Romo will forge a relationship for 2025 and beyond.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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