NFL Rumors: Carli Lloyd To Bears, Eagles, Steelers, Browns Or Vikings?
Is US women’s national soccer team captain Carli Lloyd heading to the NFL?
She just may be.
Lloyd, 37, made headlines this week when she knocked home a 55-year field goal during a joint practice between the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens.
Video of her kicking skills immediately went viral and prompted many to ask whether she could become the first woman to play in the NFL.
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According to multiple reports, Lloyd immediately received at least two offers to possibly kick in this week’s preseason games.
Lloyd was unable to commit to any preseason games because the US women’s national team was scheduled to play against Portugal that night, but she did tell NFL Total Access that if not for prior commitments, she “probably would have entertained the idea.”
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When pressed on how serious the offers she received were, Lloyd indicated that they were “pretty serious.”
For her part, Lloyd seemed to realize that there were some physical challenges to her potentially suiting up in the NFL.
“Look, there’s no denying that,” she said.
“I know that there’s some challenges involved with this and I know that there’s probably some players and people and everybody around the globe thinking this is the craziest thing,” she continued.
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“But then I also see it from the one perspective of maybe this is kind of something that’s going to break down some barriers and give people, women especially, the confidence to know that maybe they can be a part of any NFL team as a kicker.”
And to be clear, Lloyd does not suffer from delusions of grandeur. She knows that kicker is the only realistic position for her.
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“I mean, I’m not trying to be a running back or a quarterback; that would be an epic fail,” she admitted.
“But I do know that I could kick a ball pretty well and I pride myself in my technique and really it’s all about getting it up and over. I know that there’s loads of people that are saying, you know, big men coming at you.
“I don’t know. I’d have to seriously go out to the field. Helmet, pads, two-step, really get the technique down, really practice it and then kind of see from there if it’s possible.”
If Lloyd does decide to go for it, who are the realistic options for her team-wise? Well, there are a few.
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The Chicago Bears have been embarrassingly bad when it comes to kicking over the past few years. Their troubles continued in last night’s preseason outing.
Kicker situation in Chicago is still a mess. Eddy Piñeiro was way off on this extra point. Ugly.pic.twitter.com/fHcCNZVu6R
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) August 30, 2019
The Philadelphia Eagles are another option, since they got a front row seat to her kicking abilities.
If not the Bears or Eagles, then the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings may all be options.
Last year, the Vikings and Steelers had the two worst field goal percentages in the league, and the Browns had the fifth worst.
Regardless of whether Lloyd’s NFL career comes to fruition or not, she knows a lot of people are rooting for her.
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“There’s actually a lot of people out there who are rooting for me and who are wanting me to try to do it,” she said.
“I’ve had other girls that have played for their youth teams or high school teams as a kicker and I’ve gotten messages saying that I’ve given them the confidence to go for it even more. That’s kind of the message that you want to hear,” she continued.
“Obviously, there’s challenges with that, playing in a male-dominated sports. No other female has ever done this on the professional stage, so I know there are a lot of challenges and I get that.
“But we live in a different time in this world. I think anything is possible. I think somebody’s got to be the first one, right?”
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
She would literally die if someone tackled her.
You’re a moron