Falcons waive Parker Romo, reportedly signing kicker Zane Gonzalez
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons’ kicking game is getting another shakeup.
The team plans to sign veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez, according to an NFL Media report Tuesday. The Falcons announced Tuesday afternoon they have waived kicker John Parker Romo.
Romo missed an extra-point attempt that would have tied the score against the Patriots at 24-24 with 4:40 left to play Sunday. The Falcons ended up losing the game 24-23 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to drop to 3-5 on the season.
Gonzalez had a tryout with the team. Also, the Falcons have kickers Ben Sauls and Lenny Krieg on the practice squad.
“Obviously, we’ve got to look at that, and we’ve started that process already,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Monday when asked about Parker Romo. “We’ve worked out a bunch of different people, so we better bring people in and figure out what it’s going to be this week.”
Romo was signed to replace Younghoe Koo, who missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt that would have tied the score against Tampa Bay in the season opener. The Falcons lost that game 23-20 on Sept. 7.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to make that kick,” Morris said of the Patriots game. “Like we talked about, those pressure situations aren’t built on practice fields, they’re built in games, and they’re built in that environment.”
Gonzalez, 30, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 2017 draft. He has played in 69 NFL games after starring at Arizona State.
He has played with the Browns (2017-18), Cardinals (2018-20), Panthers (2021) and the Commanders (2024).
Gonzalez has made 96 of 120 field-goal attempts (80%), with a long of 57 yards. He has made 146 of 153 extra-point attempts (95.4%)
After Koo missed seven kicks last season, the Falcons’ front office was slow to address the position. They signed Krieg, but did not bring in any legitimate competition for Koo.
When Koo got off to a slow start this season, the Falcons started to audition kickers.
“We do everything together,” Morris said. “So, everything that happens, you can put me a part of that as well. I won’t ever — we don’t have that type of organization. We don’t have that type of that mindset, but we’ve got to get it fixed. It has to be fixed now, and it has to be fixed right now.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
