Pats Pulpit
Previewing the Patriots kicker heading into his second season in New England.
The New England Patriots will have an old-fashioned kicker competition at their hands this summer. In the one corner, they have rookie sixth-round draft pick Andres Borregales; in the other, they have 2024 practice squad pickup Parker Romo. Let’s meet the veteran.
Name: John Parker Romo
Position: Placekicker
Jersey number: 37 (w)
Opening day age: 28 (8/24/1997)
Measurements: 5’11 1/8”, 190 lbs, 29 3/8” arm length, 8 3/8” hand size, N/A Relative Athletic Score
NFL: New Orleans Saints (2022), Detroit Lions (2023), Chicago Bears (2023), Minnesota Vikings (2024), New England Patriots (2024-) | College: Central Arkansas (2016), Tulsa (2018), Virginia Tech (2019-21)
After playing high school football at McIntosh in Peachtree City, GA, Romo started his college career with one-year stints at Central Arkansas and Tulsa. Going just 2-for-6 on his combined field goal attempts, he entered his third stop, Virginia Tech, as a backup. He finally received his opportunity as a fifth-year senior in 2021 and went on to complete 18 of 22 field goals and all 34 of his point-after tries.
Despite finding late success in college, Romo went unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft. He joined the Saints but did not make it through training camp, spending his rookie regular season without a team. He eventually took his talents to the XFL where he went 17-for-19 as a member of the San Antonio Brahmas. A first-team All-XFL selection in 2023, he returned to the NFL as an offseason member of the Lions and short-time practice squadder with the Bears.
In 2024, he saw his first in-game action as a member of the Vikings; Parker played in four games as an injury replacement and completed 11 of his 12 field goal tries. He joined the Patriots via their practice squad later that same season.
Strengths: Romo is a fairly accurate kicker, who made a combined 86.8 percent of his field goal attempts between his stints at Virginia Tech as well as in San Antonio and Minnesota. In general, he offers some diverse experience stemming from a combined nine stops between the college and pro levels — experience with different coaching staffs, in different weather conditions, and under different playing rules. He also can perform on kickoffs and has done some punting in his past.
Weaknesses: Romo does not have the most consistent range or powerful leg, as evidenced by the fact that he has been asked to kick field goals of 50-plus yards just seven times in his career going back to his days at Central Arkansas. He also lacks size, which can become a factor as the last man on kickoff coverage. In addition, he was cut from four NFL teams already pointing at teams not being happy with his contributions or potential in some shape or form.
Stats (Minnesota): 4 games (0 starts) | 43 special teams snaps (9.6%) | 12 field goal...
