Atlanta Falcons Find Hometown Hero In New Kicker Parker Romo

On a Sunday night where Parker Romo became the hero for the Atlanta Falcons, the newly-acquired kicker likely knew the names of more roads in Georgia than those of the teammates he celebrated with.

Signed to the practice squad just days ahead of the Falcons' Week 2 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, the Peachtree City native Romo had no time for greetings with his new team; instead, he introduced himself to his hometown organization with a perfect 5/5 kicking night in his debut.

In fact, some of his introductions came after the game in a hilarious moment caught on live television.

This is hilarious: The #Falcons just signed K John Parker Romo last week and he went 5/5 on FGs and was named Player of the Game alongside Leonard Floyd.

One problem: He had no idea who Leonard Floyd was.

“Nice to meet you.” 😂😂😂

(via @SNFonNBC) pic.twitter.com/29emKhetvb
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 15, 2025

Growing up in a town just 30 miles south of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Romo grabbed the opportunity to become a hometown hero for the Falcons by the horns, with 16 of Atlanta’s 22 points coming off of his leg in their first victory of the year.

“It's special. It is super special for me to be able to put on for the city of Atlanta.” Romo said Monday. “I spent 17 years of my life in Georgia.”

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Though his first game with his hometown team came away from home, the environment was still special for Romo, returning to the city where his NFL career started. The second-year kicker saw his only other regular-season opportunity with the Vikings in 2024, playing in four games before being released from the team.

“It’s just god's timing,” Romo said about his debut coming in Minnesota. “You could probably tell on the first (kick), it was a little bit emotional, barely snuck it in that left upright.”

Spending four games with the Vikings last year and only a few days on the Falcons practice squad before the matchup, the kicker uniquely had more ties with his adversaries than on his own team.

“It is crazy that I knew more of their guys than I knew our guys.” Romo laughed. “That is my homework, just to keep getting to know the team and be there for the guys and make points when they need me to.”

After an impressive performance, Romo may be just what the Falcons needed at the kicker position, though Younghoe Koo continues to be in the mix for the starting job despite being a healthy scratch on Sunday.

Head coach Raheem Morris was pretty confident in who the team would choose on Sunday against the Panthers.

“There is about a 90% chance that Romo is our kicker for next week,” Morris said on Monday. “There's no doubt about that. I wouldn't even sit here and act like it's an open competition because the guy just went five-for-five. You want to see it again. You want to see it in a different atmosphere. You want to go see those things, and he did a heck of a job, and I want him to go out there and do it again, and let's go see it.”

With another opportunity to battle for the job and settle in with the Falcons, the new hometown hero will have a long week of introductions ahead of him.

“I was welcomed in by so many people, so I am excited to get to know them a little more,” Romo said, “and learn their names for sure.”

The Falcons will play another game on the road this weekend before Romo can possibly return home for his Mercedes-Benz debut in Atlanta, with the kicker looking on his way to make his once childhood home his permanent NFL home.