Vikings kicker Parker Romo hoped for phone call after Will Reichard's injury
MINNEAPOLIS - Parker Romo had a little trouble getting to sleep Sunday night. The free agent kicker was hanging out with his daughter while watching the Minnesota Vikings face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football.
He noticed something didn't look right with Will Reichard. The rookie missed his first two field goal attempts before making three second half extra points and staying consistent on kickoffs. Kevin O'Connell revealed after the game he was dealing with a quad injury. On Tuesday, the Vikings put Reichard on injured reserve, meaning he has to miss at least the next four games.
"Sunday night I kind of saw him limping a little bit. I couldn’t sleep Sunday night, just praying for that call. Sure enough it came, and I was watching my daughter so it was really cool," Romo said.
Romo was one of five kickers to get calls as they had a tryout for Reichard's replacement. O'Connell had history with Romo, who was with the Vikings during the offseason before getting cut early in training camp. Romo, a Fayateville, Arkansas native, has been staying ready by working out in his hometown. He spent the 2023 season with the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL. In 10 games, he was 17-of-19 on field goals before spending time with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.
Romo will make his NFL regular season debut on Sunday.
"Will started out to a great year, never expect anything to happen like that. You never hope for anybody to go down, it is what it is. They called me up and I’m ready to go," Romo said.
The Vikings also had to replace their long snapper, with Andrew DePaola having to go on IR with a hand injury that required surgery. They signed Jake McQuaide on Tuesday. McQuaide is in his 14th NFL season and was with the Lions for nine games last year. He's a two-time Pro Bowl pick in 2016 and 2017 with the then St. Louis Rams.
O'Connell's hope is they can provide stability while Reichard and DePaola are out.
"You’re just trying to remove any and all uncertainty. I’ve got confidence in Parker just from his time here already and knowing Jake, instilling a level of calmness and execution of doing that very important job," O'Connell said. "Between the experience level of Jake and familiarity with Park, I think we did well in a unique time where you hate two see two critical guys (go out). I feel confident in both those guys coming in here and doing their jobs and helping us win."
Blake Cashman returns to practice
For the first time in more than three weeks, Blake Cashman was on the field Wednesday at TCO Performance Center as the Vikings started practice for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was a limited participant as he's missed three straight games with turf toe.
O’Connell said the hope is to ramp him up throughout the week to be ready for Sunday against the Jaguars.
"Blake is really confident and just absolutely dying to get back out there with the guys," O’Connell said. "Hopefully it’s this week, we’ll see how he handles the workload."
Garrett Bradbury and Andrew Van Ginkel got veteran rest days Wednesday. Ivan Pace Jr. missed practice with a knee injury.
What it means
Cashman is one of the top tacklers on the Vikings defense and has the green dot duties. They’ve gone 1-2 in his absence, losses to the Detroit Lions and L.A. Rams, and last Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts. Without Cashman, more has been put on the plate for Ivan Pace Jr., Josh Metellus and Kamu Grugier-Hill.