The Minnesota Vikings had one of the most reliable kickers in the NFL through the first nine weeks of the season, but that could change in Week 10 due to an injury to Will Reichard.
The rookie kicker, who strained his quad against the Colts on Sunday night, has been placed on injured reserve, which means he's now going to have to miss at least four games. That means that Reichard won't be able to return to the field until Week 14 (Dec. 8) at the earliest.
Reichard had been an unexpected surprise for the Vikings this year. The team selected him with a sixth-round pick in the 2024 Draft and he was having a spectacular rookie season before the injury hit. Reichard hit his first 14 field goals of the season before missing two against the Colts with both misses coming after he had injured his quad. Reichard has scored a total of 65 points this year, which leads the Vikings heading into their Week 10 game in Jacksonville.
With Reichard out, the Vikings will be turning their kicking job over to John Parker Romo, who has never kicked in an NFL regular-season game before. The Vikings are familiar with Parker Romo, who signed with Minnesota in March, before being released near the beginning of training camp in late July.
Although he doesn't have any NFL experience, he was the XFL's leading scorer during the 2023 season with 51 points. Parker Romo went 17 of 19 on field goals (89.5 percent) while playing for the San Antonio Brahmas that year. He also holds the record for longest field goal at Lumen Stadium in Seattle, the home of the Seahawks.
Very important XFL note: The record for longest field goal in the history of the Seahawks' stadium doesn't belong to an NFL kicker, it belongs to the XFL's John Parker Romo (@Romo_HKA), who drilled a 57-yarder for the @XFLBrahmas over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/3MqZo5Pvnw
— John Breech (@johnbreech) March 13, 2023
Not only will the Vikings be making a change at kicker this week, but injuries are also forcing them to make a change at long snapper. The Vikings lost Andrew DePaola to injury and he'll be replaced by Jake McQuaide, according to NFL.com.
With a new snapper and a new kicker, things could get interesting for the Vikings if they decide to attempt any field goals on Sunday against the Jaguars.
