The Falcons are holding out hope that kicker Younghoe Koo’s strained right groin improves and he can kick against Green Bay on Monday.
But if Koo is not ready, they believe Elliott Fry, who they signed to the practice squad Thursday, is ready to make his NFL debut.
Koo was injured in pregame warmups before the Falcons played the Bears on Sunday.
“I found out in pregame. He was going through his standard warm-up, and the leg just didn’t feel right,” Falcons special-teams coordinator Ben Kotwica said Friday. “At that point in time is when we made the decision that it would be best to have (punter Sterling Hofrichter) take over the kickoff duties.”
Koo missed his first extra-point attempt and a 48-yard field-goal attempt that would have put the Falcons up 29-10. The Falcons would collapse and lose the game, 30-26.
Fry, who played at South Carolina, beat out veteran Kai Forbath in a tryout.
“I saw an excellent kicker,” Kotwica said. “I liked his ball-striking consistency. He had very good trajectory on the ball, which means his ability to get the ball up. His rotations and ball flight was very consistent.”
If Koo’s groin injury doesn’t heal, the Falcons will call up Fry from the practice squad, likely Sunday.
“So, I’m excited for him if he gets that opportunity,” Kotwica said. “We have to see how this thing plays out, but he proved to be a very worthy NFL kicker when we saw him kick the other day. If the opportunity presents itself, I believe he’ll be ready.”
Fry signed with Chicago following the 2019 NFL draft. He has spent time with Chicago, Baltimore, Carolina and Tampa Bay.
At South Carolina, Fry made 66 of 88 field-goal attempts (75%) and finished his career as the Gamecocks' all-time leading scorer.
Falcons' next four games
Falcons at Green Bay Packers, at 8:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5
Panthers at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11
Falcons at Vikings at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18
Lions at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday Oct. 25
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