Meet the Newest New England Patriot: John Parker Romo

Joey Slye got off to an excellent start as the placekicker for the New England Patriots in 2024. Through Week 4, he hit 8-of-9 field goals and was perfect on four extra-point attempts. His makes included a team-record 63-yard field goal against the San Francisco 49ers. But Slye’s performance has trailed off a bit since, prompting the team to sign John Parker Romo to the practice squad on Tuesday.

The Patriots employed three different kickers at various points during the 2023 season. Rookie Chad Ryland won the job in training camp over Nick Folk, with New England subsequently trading Folk to Tennessee for a future draft pick. When Ryland struggled, Matthew Wright was signed to the Patriots practice squad on Nov. 30 but was released eight days later without kicking in an NFL game. Slye signed in the offseason with New England and beat out Ryland for the job in camp this year.

Folk, Ryland, and Wright are a combined 51 for 57 (89.5%) on field goal attempts this season. This includes six game-winning field goals. The trio has hit all 42 of their extra-point attempts. By contrast, Slye is 22 of 28 (78.6%) on field goal attempts and 17 of 18 (94.4%) on extra points. Despite his strong leg, his accuracy has grown to be a concern. Missing

The three former Patriots kickers have scored 91.5% of the potential points they could have scored in 2024. Joey Slye’s potential point percentage is 81.4%. This contributed to New England signing John Parker Romo. The Patriots released Keshawn Banks to open a spot on the practice squad for Romo.

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Meet John Parker Romo

Romo attended McIntosh High School in Peachtree City, Ga. He played collegiately for Central Arkansas and Tulsa before finishing at Virginia Tech. Romo served primarily as a kickoff specialist until his final college season. He finished the year 18 of 22 on field goal attempts, with a long of 51 yards. Romo hit all 34 of his extra point attempts to finish the season with 88 points.

John Parker Romo was not selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. He signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent but was cut during training camp. He spent the 2023 season in the XFL as a member of the San Antonio Brahmas. Romo hit 17 of 19 field goal attempts. This included setting the XFL record with a successful 57-yard field goal. He earned All-XFL honors for his performance.

Romo began the 2023 season as a member of the Chicago Bears practice squad but was released on Oct. 10, 2023. He remained out of the NFL for the rest of the season before signing with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent on March 12, 2024. Despite being cut at the start of training camp (July 29), Romo showed enough to get the call when Vikings kicker Will Reichard was injured this season. He kicked in four games for Minnesota, hitting 11 of 12 field goal attempts and going 7-of-8 on extra points. He was released when Reichard returned.

The New England Patriots did not sign John Parker Romo to replace Joey Slye. If they did, Romo would be on the 53-man roster instead of the Patriots practice squad. However, with no kickers under contract in New England for 2025, the auditions are officially underway. If Slye continues to be inconsistent, his replacement is already in the building.