The Atlanta Falcons still have strong belief in their team, even after dropping the first game of the regular season in a fashion they hope won’t happen again. However, the loss came with a concerning development: kicker Younghoe Koo might be on the verge of losing his job just one week into the season. Earlier this week, the Falcons brought in several kickers for tryouts, raising questions about why they haven’t already made a move regarding Koo.
“Why are the Falcons p***yfooting around with this? Pun intended, I guess? If Romo is the guy, just sign him and cut Koo?? This blind loyalty is at a point of silliness. You don’t need THREE kickers on a roster,” wrote ESPN Radio’s Mark Zinno.
The Falcons had the opportunity to sign veteran kicker Eddy Pineiro, but he instead chose the San Francisco 49ers, drawn by their winning culture.
“I wanna win games. I want to be a part of a good culture. I'm in my 8th year of my career and I wanna win,” Pineiro said.
While the Falcons haven’t made any official moves regarding Koo, Thursday’s practice may have offered a telling sign. It appears Koo has been relieved of his kickoff duties.
“Seeing Bradley Pinion take kickoffs today at Falcons practice. Koo took kicks vs. Bucs in Week 1,” Falcons reporter Joe Patrick noted.
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This isn’t a great sign for Koo, as the team has already replaced him in one key special teams role. If they find the right replacement, Koo could be out the door in a heartbeat. It’s possible this is just a slow transition toward moving on from him entirely.
Nothing is official yet, but the speculation is certainly heating up. Koo had an impressive run with Atlanta, but after a shaky end to last season and a rough start to this one, there’s little room left for mistakes.