Falcons K Younghoe Koo Headed for IR, Replacement Signed

The Falcons will continue shuffling things up, but this isn't a chance they are keen on making

Falcons will be without Koo for some time / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Quarterback isn’t the only position the Atlanta Falcons are changing this week — but they didn’t have much of a choice on the other.

The Falcons placed kicker Younghoe Koo on injured reserve, ending his regular season with three weeks remaining. In correspondence, Atlanta signed kicker Riley Patterson to its active roster from the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad.

The #Falcons are placing standout K Younghoe Koo on Injured Reserve, source said. https://t.co/HTYvJJOmpX

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 18, 2024

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said during his press conference Tuesday that Koo approached the coaching staff after Monday night’s 15-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders and told them he’d “kind of hurt himself a little bit.”

Koo, who battled a hip injury earlier this year but had played in every game up to this point, went 2-for-3 kicking against the Raiders, making field goals from 40 and 48 yards and missing from 42. He also made his lone extra point try.

He finished the season with an NFL-high nine missed field goals. Morris said Tuesday the Falcons would evaluate Koo Wednesday morning — and evidently felt the need to put him on injured reserve.

“Our guys have always put ourselves in position to get people in here,” Morris said. “We've had a couple kickers over the last couple of weeks since he was on the injury report a couple of weeks ago. So, we've always been pretty precautionary when it comes to Younghoe Koo when it comes to those things.”

One of those kickers was Patterson, who was signed to the practice squad before Atlanta’s Dec. 1 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, elevated to the active roster for the game, declared inactive and released two days later.

Patterson is in his fourth year in the NFL after starting four years for the Memphis Tigers. He began his career in 2021 with the Detroit Lions where he went 13 for 14 (92.9%) with a long of 49 yards.

He moved to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022 and played all-17 games, going 30 for 35 (85.7%) with a long of 53 yards. He spent time with the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions in 2023 and was with the New York Jets earlier this season.

For his career, he's 59 of 67 (88.1%) on field goals including 40 of 42 under forty yards. he's 96 of 100 on extra points for an even 96%.

The Falcons (7-7) return to action at 1 p.m. Sunday against the New York Giants (2-12) inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.