Falcons practice squad kicker looking forward to his Berlin homecoming

The entire Falcons organization is excited for Krieg.

“We know he’ll be a superstar when he gets there,” Falcons president Greg Beadles said. “That will be a really cool experience for him, and for us to see him in his native country will be a cool thing as well.”

Krieg has a soccer background and took up American football late.

“From age 4 to 18, I played soccer back in Berlin and (around) Germany,” Krieg said. “Then during COVID, I stopped playing soccer. Kind of lost the (joy) with no games and no practice. I kind of thought about finding a new sport.”

His older brother, Jay, introduced him to American football.

“He already played and then coached in Berlin,” Krieg said. “So, he was my first coach. Kind of pulled me in. I’ve been kicking footballs since then.”

The landscape for American football is “very small.” Krieg would go to his brother’s games.

“I saw him play, so I was familiar with the football and with the NFL,” Krieg said. “I’d always liked it and like watching. He just convinced me that I could do it. After a couple of weeks of me denying it, he just made a big push. I just gave it a try. For once, I thought it was only going to be one time. I ended up liking it.”

Krieg kicked for the Stuttgart Surge of the European League of Football in 2023 and 2024. He played in 24 games and made 19 of 26 (73.1%) field-goal attempts, with a career long of 52 yards.

Krieg, who’s 6-foot-2 and 214 pounds, also converted 101-of-126 extra-point attempts (80.2%). He played in four playoff games and was 2-of-3 on field-goal attempts (66.7%) and 8-of-15 on extra point attempts.

“Yeah, so after my season last year in Germany, I was selected to be part of the IPP (International Player Pathways program),” Krieg said. “We had eight weeks at IMG Academy in Florida to prepare for the combine and for a pro day. I went to the combine, did pretty well, thankfully. I had a good pro day as well. That’s kind of how I ended up in Atlanta.”

He made one of two field-goal attempts and an extra point in the exhibition games. He practices with the team while on the practice squad, working on his kicking craft.

“It’s been great here,” Krieg said. “I really like it, really enjoyable. A lot of great teammates to (hang out) with and soak it all in.”

The NFL is much more intense than the league he was kicking in Europe.

“It was a club thing,” Krieg said. “Everything is kind of club based. The league was called European League of Football. We were 16 teams spread across Europe. So, Germany, Austria, Spain, Czech Republic and France. It was pretty cool. So you got to travel a lot to different countries, kind of see their culture and see their cities.”

The Surge was pretty good.

“We made it to the Finals,” Krieg said. “We lasted. We had a pretty good team.”

Krieg enjoyed playing in an NFL exhibition game.

“It was great working with (holder) Bradley (Pinion) and with (long snapper) Liam (McCullough),” Krieg said. “It was my first time working with them in a game. It was really enjoyable. They’re great teammates. Just wearing the jersey for the first time playing in the Benz was really a great feeling.”

Krieg explains the IPP program and what it means to be on the practice squad to his family.

“I mean, it’s somewhat comparable to soccer, to, like, a soccer roster,” Krieg said. “They always have, like, guys traveling and not traveling. Like on the roster, but not like on the active roster. So they can understand it that way.”

Krieg made to the highest youth level in soccer in Germany.

“But I stopped before I made a transition to, like, the senior level,” said Krieg, who is a big fan of Chelsea in England’s Premier League.

Krieg has learned a lot during his time with the Falcons.

“There’s always new things I kind of see other people doing. How to prepare for practice, for games and nutrition is a big part,” Krieg said. “Outside of that, just being about myself, learning a lot about myself, too.”

He hasn’t gotten homesick.

“I have a lot of friends visiting,” Krieg said. “My girlfriend is visiting every now and then. So it’s been pretty good.”

Krieg had some tips for Falcons fans making the trip.

“I would recommend the Berlin Wall,” Krieg said. “There’s still, like, some remains of that. That’s pretty historical. … The TV tower in Germany, and when it comes to food, it’s everything there. Berlin is pretty international, so that’d be good.” He said the Brauhaus has good beer, too.