USA Women’s Soccer star Carli Lloyd made headlines when she converted a 55-yard field goal through narrow goalposts.
This caught the attention of social media, executives, and even former NFL kicker Morten Andersen. Reportedly, Lloyd received two offers to kick during Week 4 preseason games. Andersen offered to prepare Lloyd for an NFL kicking career. The 37-year-old Lloyd has made it clear that she would need a full year of training before legitimate tryouts. That would make her 38.
What a cute story. Is it anything more than that? It’s funny and ironic how All Pro talents such as Andrew Luck and Calvin Johnson are retiring in their 20s and early 30s. Then you’ve got a 37-year-old female soccer player wanting to jump into the action. Of course, kickers don’t require the same physicality traits as offensive or defensive positions.
Carli Lloyd: It’s Impressive…For What It Is
Casual fans or complete outsiders see this kick and think, “Wow! That’s only nine yards shorter than the NFL record. She converted them on narrower posts. The Chicago Bears could’ve used her during the 2019 NFC Wildcard!”
Maybe they’re right? Maybe she would’ve converted that field goal to advance Chicago into the divisional playoff round. There isn’t enough data to make an observation one way or the other.
One of the problems deals with the conditions. She kicked a 55-yarder without any defensive pass rush. A normal field-goal routine requires a two or three-step approach. Lloyd used five steps. In a game setting, that would almost certainly get blocked. She wasn’t in pads or any official gear that may interfere with posture or comfort.
The NFL record is 64 yards. Now check out YouTube. There are dozens of videos of high school and college athletes kicking 70-yarders. New Bears kicker Eddy Piñeiro has been taped kicking an 81-yarder. In a game setting? He often misses extra points. Former Texas kicker Nick Rose nailed an 80-yarder. Biomechanist and biomedical engineer Chase Pfeifer claims that the human body is capable of kicking 90-yarders.
Kicking a 55-yarder without a defensive rush would equate to an NFL kicker warmup. The simple part of the warmup. We’d need much more information than what we’ve seen.
Carli Lloyd: Physicality
I’ve already covered that kickers don’t require the same physicality aspects as offensive or defensive positions. However, there are rare scenarios when she could find herself with an opportunity to make contact. Those situations include blocked kicks, broken kickoff coverage, returns of missed field goals, and penalties such as roughing the kicker and running into the kicker. Would a team dare attempt a fake kick with a female kicker?
This isn’t as much of an issue as critics are making it. Most kickers avoid contact. I’m not wasting anyone’s time posting videos of kickers who just fall down or run off the sideline when faced as the last obstacle for a kick returner streaking for the end zone. Coaches don’t want their kickers getting hurt. There are 10 other men whose livelihoods depend on defensing it. It’s possible to assign kickoff coverage to the punter or roster a second kicker. With only 53 roster spots, the latter is inconvenient.
If a female kicker can showcase phenomenal accuracy from a reasonable distance, then female stereotypes won’t override the possibility of employment.
Carli Lloyd: Would She Get a Real Chance in a Conservative Sport?
Typical NFL fans are either conservative or just want an escape from reality—reality meaning politics. Most owners are conservatives. Just look at the fallout from the Colin Kaepernick drama. Kaepernick faces his third straight season without a roster spot. He’ll likely never get one. And while people will suggest he was never good enough to continue playing, let’s not forget Nathan Peterman is still employed. There are some bad backup quarterbacks whom will never have the ability to carry another franchise into a Super Bowl game like Kaepernick did.
Remember when Cody Parkey received days worth of death threats? Remember when fans turned on Luck? Football fans aren’t interested in agendas; they’re interested in winning. Just look at social media. Most people are highly skeptical about this. I’d guess that something like this would go off better in the NBA than the NFL.
Carli Lloyd: Is It Remotely Possible to Become an NFL Kicker?
My money says no. A hard no. Carli Lloyd just doesn’t have the time nor experience to make this work.
The only way I’d see this happening is if another executive valued the publicity that she’d bring a franchise. She must display pinpoint accuracy inside the 30-yard-line (47-yarder or less). Converting practice kicks doesn’t prove game accuracy one way or the other. We’d need to see her kick in a game setting or with a defensive rush to gauge the credibility of this hypothetical.
A female NFL kicker isn’t an impossibility. I’d liken it to free throws. Excluding publicity stunts, A WNBA player has an absolute zero chance of making an NBA roster. But if you had the choice of shooting technical free throws, there are many females (e.g. Elena Delle Donne) who’d get chosen over male players. Is there any reason that a woman can’t consistently kick it between the goalposts?
Odds are against her. So is Mother Time. Lloyd is a 37-year-old whose priority is her soccer commitments. Think about how many kickers have solely trained to kick field goals yet have never gotten the opportunity or failed at the professional level. Maybe she gets the opportunity to compete during training camp and kick a few during preseason contests. Regular season? Doubtful.
Consider the era. Society’s demand for perfection along with more challenging extra points have required kickers to improve at their craft. According to Pro Football Reference, 2018 featured NFL kickers converting at an 84.7 success rate. Only 2013 featured a higher mark (86.5 percent). For every Parkey, there are many more kickers who are reliable. Someone with kicking aspirations would find this as a challenging time to break into the league. Well, excluding that one kicker every draft who’s wildly over-drafted.
Don’t get too excited. That said, if there are teams and current/former kickers willing to work with her, she should accept it. There’s no harm to trying. If she fails, then she has something to tell her friends and family. Maybe a younger female kicker who has practiced this craft since childhood can benefit from Lloyd’s attempt.
One more thing: if Lloyd gets a job before Kaepernick, then that will produce some of the greatest memes you’ll ever witness.
Best of luck.
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Joshua Huffman was born and educated in Middle Tennessee. He has published content for Yahoo! Sports (via Contributor Network) and Titan Sized, among other venues. At SoBros, he’ll provide Daily Fantasy Sports suggestions and broad sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter (although I rarely use it).
