The Minnesota Vikings are 11-2 and sitting on top of the… Well, they’ve all but clinched a playoff spot. Ahead of the purple are the division rival Detroit Lions. They pushed their record to 12-1, in week 14, after securing yet another victory of their own.
But these two NFC North juggernauts aren’t only tied together by their division, or their battle atop the conference. They also share the same former kicker, John Parker Romo, who both teams have ‘kicked’ to the curb recently.
Romo was a member of the Detroit Lions training camp roster for three and a half months in 2023. He did not make the 53-man roster. About a half-year later, Romo signed with the Minnesota Vikings. They drafted Will Reichard out of Alabama a month later, then cut Romo on the second day of training camp.
John Parker Romo proved himself with the Minnesota Vikings
But then, Reichard injured himself in week 8, which landed him on injured reserve. So, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah called a jobless Parker Romo back up. Prior to week 9, they signed the 27-year-old for the NFL opportunity he has been waiting for since 2022.
Romo, a former Virginia Tech Hokie, responded by being one of the best kickers in the National Football League for the month he was employed by the Minnesota Vikings. In four games, John Parker Romo hit 11-of-12 field goals and 7-of-8 on extra points.
He single-handedly beat the Jaguars in his NFL debut on November 10. Seriously, he scored all twelve of their points in a 12-7 road victory. He also kicked three field goals vs the Bears and went 3-of-4 vs the Cardinals, in his final game before Will Reichard was activated off injured reserve.
New England Patriots signing Parker Romo
So, John Parker Romo was waived by the Minnesota Vikings, prior to their week 14 game vs the Atlanta Falcons. He cleared waivers on Tuesday morning, and was immediately scooped up by the New England Patriots, who are reportedly signing Romo to their practice squad, per Mike Garafolo (ESPN).
Prior to his stint with the Lions, John Parker Romo proved himself to be one of the best non-NFL kickers in the world, going 17-of-19 for the San Antonio Brahmans of the XFL, where he set the record for longest field goal (57 yards), which has since been broken.
Romo kicked for three seasons at Virginia Tech, from 2019-2021, but only handled field goal and extra point duties as a super senior, where he made 34-of-34 extra points and 18-of-22 (81.8) field goal attempts.
Related: Vikings DC Brian Flores Makes Initial Short List of Coaching Candidates for NFC North Rival
From what we saw while he wore a Minnesota Vikings uniform, John Parker Romo might be one of the best and most cold-blooded young kickers in the NFL. Only time will tell, but this could prove to be a sneaky big signing by the Patriots. I can’t imagine Romo losing that job, once activated off their practice squad.
