HEADLINES

Younghoe Koo

Giants K Graham Gano Returns To IR

November 12th, 2025 at 9:05pm CST by Ely Allen

It was an inauspicious start to the season in New York when kicker Graham Gano was placed on injured reserve after only the third game of the season. After only appearing in 18 of a possible 34 games in the past two seasons, the Giants needed Gano healthy as they entered his sixth year with the team. Gano was able to return a couple weeks ago after missing the minimum four games but has promptly been returned to IR, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Gano, 38, has been with the Giants since 2020, earning two separate three-year extensions for a combined $30.5MM. It was a knee injury that sidelined Gano for nine games in 2023, while a groin issue held him out of seven contests last year. In addition to the injuries, Gano struggled with his accuracy whenever he was available. Gano missed six of 17 field goal attempts in 2023, with two misses coming from inside the 30-yard line. While he improved a bit in 2024, going nine for 11, one of those misses was also from inside 40 yards.

It was, once again, a groin injury that landed Gano on IR near the start of this year. The injury occurred during pregame warmups, and Gano tried to make a go of it later in the game after punter Jamie Gillan saw his sole extra point attempt blocked, but ultimately, an IR placement was needed. This time, it was reportedly neck soreness — later determined to be a herniated disk (per Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports) — that threatened Gano’s playing time and ultimately led to his second IR stint this season.

After Gano’s first injury, the team signed veteran kicker Younghoe Koo to their practice squad, joining him with existing taxi squad kicker Jude McAtamney. New York opted to go with McAtamney in those four weeks without Gano, but after watching him miss three extra point attempts in two games and only sending him out to attempt field goals shorter than 32 yards, the Giants switched it up with Koo last week. Koo made both of his point after tries and both of his field goal attempts in the Windy City.

Already rostering Koo and McAtamney on the taxi squad and Gano on IR, the team added a bit more insurance yesterday by making Ben Sauls the third kicker on their 17-man practice squad. Sauls has made the rounds since signing as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers after kicking in the same stadium in college at Pitt. After failing to make the initial 53-man roster, Sauls signed with Koo’s former Falcons on a practice squad deal before getting released last Tuesday.

We identified Gano as a potential cap casualty in the offseason, and at this point, shuffling three kicking replacements on their practice squad, the Giants likely regret not acting on that possible cost-cutting move. Utilizing the potential out built into his contract, which expires in 2027, New York could have reclaimed $3.17MM of cap savings by cutting Gano early in the offseason with only $2.5MM of dead money to burn. If they had made him a post-June 1 release, they may have gotten $4.42MM in cap savings with only $1.25MM of dead money.

Instead, his contract remains on the ledger, and the Giants are paying three practice squad contracts as they search for an effective, consistent injury replacement for the third season in a row. The current situation has set Gano up to be a cut candidate once again in the near future.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/8/25

November 8th, 2025 at 5:55pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Several teams around the NFL made tweaks to their rosters on Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s slate of games. Here are all the latest moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Week 10 will mark the debut for both players the Chargers gave the IR-designated for return label during roster cutdowns in August. Their activations had already been accounted for, but Hand’s had not. With those three now back in the fold, the Bolts have three IR activations remaining on the season.

Giants’ Graham Gano Battling Neck Injury; Younghoe Koo Likely To Kick Sunday

November 7th, 2025 at 2:00pm CST by Connor Byrne

NOVEMBER 7: Gano is not taking part in Friday’s practice. To little surprise, then, Daboll said (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan) he “assumes” it will be Koo handling kicking duties in Week 10.

NOVEMBER 6: Injuries have been a frequent problem for Giants kicker Graham Gano since he signed a three-year, $16.5MM contract extension in 2023. After combining for 18 of a possible 34 appearances from 2023-24, Gano has already missed four of the Giants’ nine games this year. He could sit out again when the Giants face the Bears on Sunday.

Gano, now battling neck soreness, spent time on IR earlier this season with a groin injury. The 38-year-old missed a field goal in a 34-24 loss to the 49ers last Sunday, his second game since coming off IR, but has connected on his other nine attempts this season. Gano is is also a perfect 9 for 9 on extra points.

While Gano has put together a more-than-respectable career since debuting with Washington in 2009, the former Pro Bowler admitted Thursday that injuries and outside criticism have taken their toll (via Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports).

“It’s unbelievably frustrating,” Gano said. “I can’t control the injuries that have happened. It’s not like I’ve done something that is out of the ordinary outside of the building to hurt myself or anything. I just want to play ball, and constantly not being able to is tough. Doing everything I can to try to come back and play, and that’s my hope.”

If Gano is unable to suit up in Week 10, the Giants are preparing to use practice squad kicker Younghoe Koo, head coach Brian Daboll said (via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post). Also a former Pro Bowler, Koo had a long run with the Falcons, who released him after a costly missed field goal in a 23-20 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 1. The 31-year-old caught on with New York’s practice squad on Sept. 23.

Although Koo has been with the Giants for about a month and a half, he hasn’t kicked in a game with them yet. The Giants instead turned to Jude McAtamney during Gano’s four-game absence. McAtamney converted his only two field-goal attempts while filling in for Gano, but he missed three of his 12 extra-point tries. Two of those misses came in a 33-32 loss to the Broncos in Week 7. The Giants cut and re-signed McAtamney to their practice squad after their Denver disaster, and the Northern Ireland native is now behind Koo in the pecking order.

Despite having Koo and McAtamney around as fallback options, the Giants worked out free agent kicker Ben Sauls on Thursday, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic. As Duggan notes, the undrafted rookie from Pittsburgh signed with Atlanta’s practice squad after the team moved on from Koo. The Falcons cut Sauls on Tuesday.

Giants To Sign K Younghoe Koo

September 23rd, 2025 at 7:01pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Giants are signing Younghoe Koo to the practice squad as insurance for injured kicker Graham Gano, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Gano tweaked his groin during warmups before Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. That clearly affected the Giants’ decision-making. Punter Jamie Gillan was inserted for kickoffs and PATs, and Brian Daboll elected to go for a fourth-and-3 rather than kick a 45-yard field goal on New York’s first drive. Gillian’s extra point attempt on the Giants’ sole touchdown was blocked, and the team later called on Gano for a successful 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Adding Koo to the practice squad indicates that there is at least a chance that Gano’s injury could sideline him for the Giants’ Week 4 matchup with the Chargers. This would not be Gano’s first injury absence as a Giant. He has been one of the more unreliable kickers in recent memory, missing seven games last season and nine in 2023.

That would give Koo another chance to play in 2025 after being released by the Falcons last week. He missed a game-tying field goal as time expired in the regular season opener, and Atlanta decided to bench him in Week 2 favor of John Parker Romo. He aced his audition by making all six of his kick and received a two-year deal before Week 3 while Koo was sent packing.

The Giants will be hoping Koo can look more like his pre-2024 form if he has to play. From 2019-2023, he was one of the most accurate kickers in the league with a 89.9% conversion rate across 74 games for the Falcons.

The team will also be monitoring Gano carefully this week. He was extremely consistent during his first three years in New York and was five-for-five on field goals and four-for-four on extra points to start the 2025 season. However, his play took a hit amid IR stints in 2023 and 2024, so taking a cautious approach and allowing his groin to fully heal might be the smartest path forward. Signing Koo gives the Giants flexibility to do just that.

Falcons Promote John Parker Romo, Release Younghoe Koo

September 19th, 2025 at 10:41pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Falcons have made their Week 2 kicking change permanent by signing John Parker Romo to the active roster and releasing Younghoe Koo, per Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Koo missed a game-tying field goal as time expired in Week 1, leading Atlanta to explore other kicking options last week. Romo earned a spot on the practice squad with a tryout and was elevated to start in Week 2. He delivered with a perfect 5-for-5 performance on field goals with a long of 54 yards. Along with an extra point, Romo scored 16 of Atlanta’s 22 points in their victory over the Vikings.

It seemed clear after the game that Romo had earned another start, but the Falcons seem to believe they’ve found a long-term starter. Not only did they replace Koo with Romo on the active roster – solidifying his starting status for the rest of the season – they also handed him a two-year contract to prevent another kicker-needy team from scooping him up next offseason.

Romo is now up to 16 makes on 17 attempts in his career after going 11-for-12 in four games for the Vikings last season. Koo, meanwhile, will leave Atlanta after six seasons and 93 appearances for the Falcons. Despite a down year in 2024, which included a 73.5% field goal conversion rate and six misses inside 50 yards, the team did not bring in any veteran competition for training camp.

That changed quickly after Koo faltered in Week 1, and he will now hit free agency with the hopes of catching onto with another team that is looking for a new kicker, either due to injury or poor performance. Koo still owns a solid 85.8% conversion rate in his career, though he will have to convince a new suitor that his last year-and-a-half was an aberration.

This release will create more than $2MM in Falcons dead money, stemming from the four-year, $24.25MM extension Koo had signed. That contract ran through 2026. Koo, who caught on with the Falcons after washing out quickly with the Chargers, will look for a third chance in his age-31 season.

Falcons Rule Out Younghoe Koo, Elevate John Parker Romo; S Jordan Fuller Placed On IR

September 13th, 2025 at 6:21pm CST by Ely Allen

The Falcons made it clear that kicker Younghoe Koo was in danger of losing his role as the team’s primary kicker as they hosted a number of free agents and eventually signed John Parker Romo to the practice squad. Atlanta made the decision today to rule Koo out for the game and promote Romo as a standard gameday practice squad elevation.

Koo, playing in the fourth year of his five-year, $24.25MM contract, came into the season on thin ice. Koo’s first three years in Atlanta were stellar as he only missed seven of 94 field goal attempts. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, though, Koo’s identical 32-for-37 results marked a career high for misses. The wheels seemed to come off in 2024 as Koo missed nine of 34 field goal attempts.

Therefore, when Koo missed a 44-yarder in an attempt to send the Falcons into overtime in their Week 1 matchup with the Buccaneers, it became apparent that he may lose more than just the game. With Romo coming in Tuesday, Koo had the week to change his coaches’ minds. In the end, he will not travel with the team. His out designation reasoning has been ruled as not being injury related.

Romo will get another opportunity after a short stint with the Vikings last year. When Minnesota’s regular kicker Will Reichard was placed on injured reserve, the team signed Romo to fill in. The latter did phenomenally in his time as a substitute, making 11 of 12 attempts, including a 55-yarder, though he did miss one of eight extra point attempts. Reichard’s stint on IR lasted the minimum four weeks, and Romo was waived upon his return.

The Falcons also placed safety Jordan Fuller on IR. The sixth-year veteran was among those released by Atlanta during roster cutdowns, but he found himself back in the fold shortly thereafter. Fuller played a special teams role in Week 1, but a knee injury will now result in an extended absence. At least a four-week spell on the sidelines is in store as a result of today’s move.

Atlanta’s other gameday elevation for Monday night is receiver David Sills. One of the team’s callups last week, Sills played just two snaps against the Buccaneers. A limited workload should again be in store this time around.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

Falcons To Explore K Options

September 9th, 2025 at 1:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

SEPTEMBER 9: The Falcons have indeed added another kicker by signing John Parker Romo to the practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Romo emerged as the best option out of a tryout group that also included Zane Gonzalez, Michael Badgley, and Ben Sauls, per Pelissero.

SEPTEMBER 8: In the wake of their Week 1 loss, the Browns expressed confidence in kicker Andre Szmyt and indicated no competition would be brought in. The opposite is true in the case of the Falcons.

Atlanta will look into alternative options at the position, head coach Raheem Morris said on Monday. Younghoe Koo narrowly made one of his kicks yesterday, with a deflection off one of the uprights resulting in a successful attempt. At the end of the contest, though, a 44-yard field goal which would have tied the game was missed.

“We have to bring a competitive edge,” Morris said (via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall). “We have to go out there and look. We have to bring in people to compete. It definitely creates that sense of urgency. It’s about the process you have to go through from a physical and mental standpoint.”

Morris added (via Kendall) Koo is the incumbent for the time being but said the team will explore veteran as well as “up and coming” options. With over $8MM in cap space, finances will not be an issue if an addition is to be made. For now, attention will turn to the free agents who choose to visit the Falcons, with Eddy Pineiro, Zane Gonzalez, and Greg Joseph among the most notable names on the market.

Koo enjoyed a strong run with the Falcons beginning in 2019. The 31-year-old South Korean earned a Pro Bowl nod the following year and remained among the league’s most consistent kickers until 2024. Last year, Koo missed nine of his 34 field goal attempts, resulting in a career-low accuracy rate of 73.5%.

A training camp competition took place involving Lenny Krieg, was was waived during roster cuts but retained via a practice squad agreement. Morris said the German-born Krieg, who first signed with Atlanta in March, is considered a developmental player but added he will receive another opportunity to earn the kicking gig. Koo has two years remaining on his contract and is owed a total of $8.5MM over that span.

A parting of ways between he and the Falcons has been speculated about dating back to last season’s struggles, but that has not been the case so far. It will nevertheless be interesting to see how the coming days play out with Atlanta searching out alternatives.

Falcons Cull Roster To 53 Players

August 26th, 2025 at 7:40pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Falcons trimmed their roster down to 53 players with the following moves:

Released

Waived

Placed on injured reserve (designated to return)

Placed on reserve/PUP

Placed on reserve/NFI

  • LB Malik Verdon

Released from IR with injury settlement

Fuller, Harrison, and Henderson all have previous starting experience in the secondary, though Harrison has since converted to linebacker and exclusively played special teams last season. Fuller missed half of the 2024 season due to injury, while Henderson, a former top-10 draft pick, spent the year with the Steelers but didn’t appear in a regular-season game.

With right tackle Kaleb McGary landing on season-ending IR, Parker could be a candidate to have a handshake agreement to be signed to the practice squad and remain in the team’s game day plans for the season. He will be crucial tackle depth with Norton sidelined for at least four weeks (and likely more) after ankle surgery

Bryant was a projected Day 3 pick who surprisingly went undrafted. Though he didn’t do enough to make the 53-man roster, the Falcons are hoping that he can clear waivers and return to the practice squad, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.

Though Younghoe Koo is coming off a down year, the Falcons are sticking with the veteran kicker and waived Krieg, a German-born rookie. The Falcons are planning to re-sign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. As an international player, Krieg is eligible to be an extra, 17th player on Atlanta’s practice squad.

Washington is expected to spend his third NFL season on the Falcons’ practice squad, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was only elevated once in 2024 and played exclusively special teams in that game.

Graham started 16 games over his first four years in the NFL but saw his snap share drop to a career low in 2024. He’ll be out for a minimum of four games with an undisclosed injury.

Falcons To Sign Riley Patterson Off Browns’ Practice Squad, Place Younghoe Koo On IR

December 18th, 2024 at 11:54am CST by Sam Robinson

Riley Patterson‘s travels continue. Having already been with six teams since December 2023, the young kicker continues to be asked back to previous destinations. That will occur once again Wednesday.

The Falcons are placing longtime kicker Younghoe Koo on IR, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports the team is bringing back Patterson, who will be signed off the Browns’ practice squad. Kevin Stefanski said Patterson, who kicked for Cleveland in Week 15, was departing due to being poached. He now has a chance to kick for a third team this season.

Patterson’s path since last December has gone through Detroit, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Washington, New York, Atlanta, back to Cleveland and now back to Atlanta. The Falcons had brought him in as Koo insurance, as the Pro Bowler had struggled at points this season. Patterson was elevated to join Koo on Atlanta’s active roster for a game earlier this month. Barely two weeks later, he is back in Atlanta.

The Lions dropped Patterson after giving Michael Badgley the job following a prolonged practice competition last December. That led the 25-year-old specialist to Cleveland to fill in for an injured Dustin Hopkins. The Jaguars, who employed Patterson in 2022 before trading him to the Lions, signed him to a reserve/futures contract but waived him this summer. The Commanders then waived Patterson upon trading for Cade York. Patterson kicked in one game for the Jets and one for the Browns this season.

For hardcore NFL transaction buffs keeping track at home, Patterson has now secured a second stint on a fourth NFL team. Prior to the two Browns stays, he had yo-yoed back to Detroit and Jacksonville. The Memphis alum has not attempted a field goal this season, going 4-for-4 on PATs. With the Lions last year, he went 15-for-17 but still lost his job to Badgley.

Since a rocky start to his career, Koo has enjoyed more stability. He has been the Falcons’ kicker since 2019. Although he is one of the NFL’s highest-paid specialists, Koo has made just 73.5% of his kicks this season. That brought rumblings of a Falcons switch. Atlanta stuck with its All-Pro option but will now sideline him for the rest of the regular season and a wild-card game, should the 7-7 team advance to the playoffs.

Contract Details: Koo, Armstrong, Whitehead, McKissic, Seahawks, Gladney

March 23rd, 2022 at 10:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the details from the latest agreed-upon contracts around the league:

  • Younghoe Koo, K (Falcons): Five years, $24.25MM. Koo received a $6.25MM signing bonus and will earn a fully guaranteed $1.75MM 2022 base salary, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets. The final three years of Koo’s deal are nonguaranteed; none of Koo’s cap hits exceed $6MM.
  • Jordan Whitehead, S (Jets): Two years, $14.5MM. The Jets fully guaranteed Whitehead $7MM and, according to OverTheCap.com, the veteran safety’s cap hits will be $4.2MM and $10.2MM.
  • Austin Johnson, DL (Chargers): Two years, $14MM. Initially reported as having a max value of $14MM, Johnson’s deal carries a base value of that amount. It comes with $10.6MM guaranteed, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweets.
  • Dorance Armstrong, DE (Cowboys): Two years, $12MM. The Cowboys fully guaranteed Armstrong $6MM, and Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News tweets his 2022 cap figure checks in at $3.38MM. The deal also features a $1MM sack incentive.
  • Quinton Jefferson, DL (Seahawks): Two years, $9.5MM. The Seahawks guaranteed Jefferson $5.2MM to return. This includes a $1.2MM 2022 base salary, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com tweets.
  • J.D. McKissic, RB (Commanders): Two years, $7MM. Enticing him to renege on a Bills agreement, the Commanders guaranteed McKissic $3.6MM. The deal includes $1.5MM in performance incentives for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets.
  • Jeff Gladney, CB (Cardinals): Two years, $6.5MM. The former first-round pick will receive $4MM guaranteed, SI.com’s Howard Balzer tweets. In addition to his $2MM signing bonus, the Cards guaranteed Gladney’s 2022 base salary ($1.5MM) and $500K of his 2023 base ($2.5MM). Gladney will count just $2.5MM against Arizona’s cap this year.
  • Rashaad Penny, RB (Seahawks): One year, $5.75MM. To keep Penny, the Seahawks guaranteed him $5.07MM. Penny will carry a $5.51MM cap number, Henderson tweets. Incentives for rushing yards, receiving yards and touchdowns could take the deal to $6.5MM.
Load More Posts