The Atlanta Falcons have announced the release of kicker Younghoe Koo.
Younghoe Koo, who had been the Falcons kicker since the 2019 season, was cut this afternoon.
The final straw came for the Falcons’ front office after the 31-year-old missed a costly last-second-second field goal against Tampa Bay.
Koo took to Instagram to “thank the Falcons organisation for giving me the opportunity when no one else would”.
The history books will look back on him fondly. He leaves with only Matt Bryant and Morten Andersen having scored more than him.
Furthermore, his Falcons career concluded with 700 points for the Dirty Birds.
Thank you, Younghoe Koo pic.twitter.com/mOh89rj76B
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 19, 2025
Where it all started
Having come through at Georgia Southern University, it almost felt like fate that Koo would end up at the Atlanta Falcons.
Following the release of franchise legend Matt Bryant, the Atlanta Falcons signed the young kicker in October 2019.
Koo had an impressive debut, making all four of his field goals against rivals, the New Orleans Saints.
The South Korean would then go on to score another four field goals against the Carolina Panthers.
As a result of this, Koo found himself awarded the NFC special teams player of the week for the second time.
The kicker had his best year in 2020, finding himself in the Pro Bowl after leading the campaign in scoring points.
The decline
In recent years, Koo had fallen well short of where he once was.
The 2024 campaign saw him miss nine of his 34 field goals, a career high for the now veteran.
Furthermore, some of these misses proved costly, in particular a 20-17 loss to a pitiful New Orleans Saints.
It was the perfect storm for the former Pro Bowler, as a hip injury would then rule him out for the remainder of the season.
Where next for Koo?
The veteran kicker will not be short of options.
Kickers in the NFL can regularly play into their 40s, so Koo is considered reasonably young.
With a record like his in the league, there will more than likely be a team willing to take a chance on him.
The Falcons now turn to new kicker Parker Romo following a fantastic debut against the Minnesota Vikings.
