Matt Bryant‘s second stint as the Falcons’ kicker is over. The Falcons have released the longtime veteran, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Atlanta worked out kickers Younghoe Koo and Elliott Fry yesterday, foreshadowing this move. Shortly after we heard Bryant was getting released, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted that the team is indeed signing Koo. Bryant spent ten years as the Falcons’ kicker from 2009-18, then was cut after last season. He spent all summer as a free agent, then was re-signed right before the start of the season when Giorgio Tavecchio and Blair Walsh struggled during the preseason.
Bryant is 44 and has been one of the league’s most recognizable kickers for the better part of two decades. After originally spending some time in the AFL and NFL Europe in the early 2000’s, he was finally able to latch on with the Giants. Bryant has already missed five field goals and an extra point this season, and this is likely the end of the road for him. In Atlanta’s Week 6 loss to the Cardinals, he missed a crucial extra point late in the game as the Falcons ended up losing by a single point.
Koo started the 2017 season off as the Chargers’ kicker, but was quickly released after missing a few clutch kicks. He has bounced around soon, including a stint in the AAF, and was on the Patriots’ practice squad earlier this season. Koo, the South Korean native who played his college ball at Georgia Southern, is definitely talented and a worthwhile flyer for a rebuilding Falcons team.
Patriots?
Have his agent call the Bears.
No relation to Oldhoe.
Oldhoe Hawt
…what a player
For the record his name is pronounced Young-way. But I still think the jokes are still valid.