With his Vikings days numbered, kicker Parker Romo is thankful for ‘start of my career’ in Minnesota

Vikings kicker Will Reichard, the rookie sixth-round phenom who made 34 straight kicks to begin his NFL career, returned to practice this week. Coach Kevin O’Connell hopes Reichard is ready to return from a quad injury by Sunday’s game against the Falcons.

Parker Romo, Reichard’s replacement, has collected teammates’ signatures this week on a white No. 96 Vikings jersey. That jersey will come with him whenever the Vikings officially release him, which is expected whenever Reichard is cleared to return from injured reserve.

For now, the Vikings are keeping Romo around while monitoring how Reichard’s leg responds to practices.

“I really just look at it as the start of my career,” Romo said after Wednesday’s practice. “Started in Minnesota, and who knows how long it’ll be here or where it goes next. It’s a God’s plan kind of thing.”

Romo has auditioned well for teams that could be looking for kicking help this season or during free agency in March. He has made 18 of 20 kicks over four games.

Romo, who went undrafted after his college career ended in 2021, hadn’t appeared in an NFL game prior to the Vikings calling him last month.

“It’s nice to finally have some regular-season games under my belt,” Romo said. “I’ve done a pretty good job. Of course, I’d like to get two of those kicks back or maybe one of those kickoffs, too, so there’s always room for improvement. But I’m happy with that.”

For now, Romo said he’s still preparing as if he’s going to be the Vikings kicker on Sunday. O’Connell commended Romo and long snapper Jake McQuaide, who was released this week after four games when long snapper Andrew DePaola returned to practice.

“We’re going to let Will kind of work through the week, make sure he gets some kicks and things like that,” O’Connell said. “I can’t say enough about both those guys. Parker’s been as big as anybody here over the last few weeks helping us to ensure some of these wins.”

Tight end Josh Oliver practiced for the first time since spraining his left ankle Nov. 17 in Tennessee, keeping him on track to return Sunday from a two-game absence.

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore (hamstring) and safety Jay Ward (elbow) were the only Vikings players sidelined. Linebacker Blake Cashman has a new knee injury that limited his reps on Wednesday. Left tackle Cam Robinson is no longer listed with the foot injury that plagued him last month.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins isn’t the only former Vikings player coming back to town. Cornerback Mike Hughes, selected 30th overall by the Vikings in 2018, could return from a two-game absence due to a neck injury. Hughes practiced fully in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard is, statistically, the NFL’s leading pass rusher as far as pressuring the quarterback. He’s done so 60 times through 12 games, according to Pro Football Focus, more than any other defender. He’s also playing more than he ever has before. Greenard’s 649 defensive snaps for the Vikings are already more than the career-high 632 snaps he played in 15 games for the Texans last year.

Balancing Greenard’s health and impact is on the minds of the coaching staff.

“He’s played a ton,” O’Connell said. “We’re trying to be aware of just how much he’s played and see if we can give him some spurts here and there where we can keep his play count where we want it, but at the same time he’s one of our best players, and as I like to call him, he’s the closer. How many times this year has he affected the quarterback, drawn a penalty, sacked the quarterback, strip-sacked last week in these critical moments?”

Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss, the Vikings legend, revealed recently on social media that he’s “battling something internally,” referring to an undisclosed ailment for which he asked for prayers and support. O’Connell opened his Wednesday news conference with some words for the 47-year-old Moss.

“On behalf of the whole Minnesota Vikings organization, just send him our well wishes and support,” O’Connell said. “We love Randy and know our fan base feels the same way. He’s really revered by all Vikings fans, and really by all NFL fans, with the Hall of Famer that he is, and I just want to let him know that we’re here for him.”

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