The Chargers announced Thursday that the team has waived kicker Younghoe Koo. We’re very sorry about this turn of events, because he was our favorite NFL kicker.
Chargers waive Younghoe Koo, our favorite NFL kicker
Here’s hoping Koo gets a shot with another team soon.
Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
It was impossible to not root for Koo. The Korean-born kicker never even saw a football until he moved to the United States at age 12. He was one of the best kickers in college football last year, converting 19 of 20 field goal attempts for Georgia Southern in 2016.
Plus, he can do this.
Koo’s struggles with the Chargers weren’t all his fault, as our own Nate Scott pointed out in his weekly NFL kickers column, Gramatica Errors. The blocking by his teammates during attempts was poor at times, and for crying out loud, Chargers. You can’t expect Younghoe Koo to do everything out there.
Still, Koo only converted three of six field goal attempts. One was blocked, and two were just misses. And it is pretty difficult for a team to justify sticking with a kicker who’s only converting 50 percent of his field goal attempts.
The Chargers signed Nick Novak to take Koo’s place. Novak has made 82.8 percent of his field goal attempts over his career.
“We feel like Nick (Novak) was the best choice for our team,” head coach Anthony Lynn said. “Nick has been an accurate kicker for a long time.”
Here’s hoping Koo gets another shot so we can get back to cheering him on again.
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