Chicago Bears fans might not remember kicker John Parker Romo. Romo was signed to the team’s practice squad on August 31, 2023, after getting cut by the Detroit Lions at the end of preseason.
Romo didn’t appear in any games with the Bears as he was released not too long after on October 10, 2023. Romo has continued to pursue his NFL dream, which includes making a brief return to the NFC North last season with the Minnesota Vikings before joining the New England Patriots. He appeared in four games with the Vikings, where he made 11-of-12 field goals and 7-of-8 extra point attempts.
Ex-Bear John Parker Romo Struggling in OTAs with Patriots
The 27-year-old kicker is now competing against a rookie for the starting job with the Patriots, but isn’t off to a good start in OTAs. According to Mark Daniels of MassLive, Romo struggled at Monday’s practice, only making two out of four field goals.
Meanwhile, rookie Andres Borregales went a perfect 4-for-4 on his field goal attempts. This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard the ex-Bear struggling at OTAs this spring.
When Patriots OTAs kicked off last month, Romo reportedly missed two field goals between 40-50 yards. One of the missed attempts went wide right, while the other went wide left.
Luckily for Romo, this position battle isn’t over yet, as we still have mandatory minicamp and training camp coming up. However, the former Bear is putting himself in a precarious spot as he’s not making the most of his opportunities right now.
It also doesn’t help that the Patriots spent a sixth-round pick on a kicker. If Romo can’t finish OTAs strong and perform well in mandatory minicamp, he could be on the outside looking in when training camp rolls around in July.