The New York Giants signed Younghoe Koo to their practice squad after he was released from the Atlanta Falcons a week ago, and it won't take long for him to see the field.
With an injury to longtime kicker Graham Gano, the G-Men will promote the Pro Bowler to the active roster to be their starting kicker at home on Sunday against the Chargers.
Ironically, much like happened to the guy who replaced him in Atlanta, Parker Romo, Koo's debut will come against the team that gave him his first NFL opportunity. This gives him the perfect motivation to prove that he still belongs in the league after his dramatic fall from grace down south.
Younghoe Koo will immediately see the field with the NY Giants
Koo's tenure with the Falcons came to a disappointing end after he missed a game-tying field goal in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Just a couple of years ago, he had established himself as one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history.
For whatever reason, it went all downhill from there. Last year, he struggled mightily, missing nine kicks, resulting in a conversion rate of only 73.5%.
When you look back on the Falcons' 2024 season, you could argue that they would've broken their long-standing playoff drought if he had been league average. There were so many crucial kicks missed before he was placed on IR to finish the season.
Moving forward, he will need to prove that he can be the player he once was. He likely won't become full-time kicker for Big Blue with Gano still on the roster, but plenty of other kicker-needy teams are watching. Additionally, Gano hasn't played all 17 games since 2022 and has struggled of late, so it is a tryout with the Giants, too.
As for his former team, the Falcons are once again in peril at the position. After Parker Romo had a perfect debut, he struggled in Week 4, missing both of his kicks against the Panthers, which prompted the Dirty Birds to bring in more competition in undrafted rookie Ben Sauls.
And that doesn't even account IPP kicker Lenny Krieg, whom Raheem Morris is also high on.
However, Morris has given the vote of confidence to Romo as the team's starter in Week 4 against Washington.
Unfortunately, every time the kicking unit comes on, (if the offense can even make it that far down the field), everyone will be holding their breath—and the same goes for everyone in New York.