Soccer star and U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) member Carli Lloyd recently made waves for kicking a field goal at an NFL practice. Now that she’s shown off her kicking skills in a different context, she’s garnered a lot of attention. The New York Jets are in the market for a kicker after some early-season struggles.

Are the Jets actually considering signing Carli Lloyd?  

Carli Lloyd’s career

Lloyd began her soccer career at Rutgers University. She joined the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) in 2005, scoring the winning goals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. The 2015 World Cup saw FIFA name her the best player of the tournament. She scored three goals in the final U.S. win over Japan.

She was also an integral part of the USWNT 2019 World Cup victory. Despite coming off the bench as a backup, she scored three times in the group stage. 

Carli Lloyd’s NFL aspirations

Lloyd, an ardent Philadelphia Eagles supporter, attended an Eagles practice in late August. With a leg as powerful as hers, she asked if she could attempt some field goals. Here’s what happened next, according to comments from Lloyd to USA Today: 

“I was casually just, you know, wanting to bang in a few field goals because I’m a competitor and I actually really enjoy doing it. … I started at 25 yards and I just kept moving back and was aiming for (Eagles kicker Jake) Elliott and (Ravens kicker Justin) Tucker’s 61-yarder record.”

Lloyd kicked a 55-yard field goal. That’s no easy feat, even for many experienced NFL kickers. She posted a video of the field goal to her Twitter account.

It went viral, and according to Lloyd, she “definitely got some inquiries” about it. Lloyd has at least one supporter if she takes a shot at it: Buffalo Bills’ kicker Steven Hauschka. When asked about her potential attempts to join the NFL, he had the following to say: 

“I saw the way she kicked that ball, and she’s obviously got a lot of talent. It feels close to my heart because when I was 18, 19 years old, I was a soccer player, and I had a dream of kicking footballs just for my Division III college team. I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity, and I had a coach that showed me how to do it.” 

Hauschka offered his services to help prepare Lloyd if she does try to make the leap to the NFL. Make no mistake, there are plenty of the teams in the NFL who could use the services of a powerful leg. One of those teams is the New York Jets. 

The New York Jets’ kicking situation

In week one, New York Jets’ kicker Kaare Vedvik missed a 45-yard field goal along with an extra point. By themselves, neither is concerning. When they occur together, it’s bad news. 

This begs the question of whether Lloyd would be a good fit for the Jets. From the Jets’ perspective, it wouldn’t hurt to bring Carli Lloyd in for a tryout. In all likelihood, she’d need some more time to learn the NFL technique, so a 2020 debut has a higher chance of happening.

But the Jets should be looking for anyone who can help them get more consistent at kicker, and Lloyd is a possibility. 

From Lloyd’s perspective, it’s not clear this would be a great fit. Joining an NFL team would be breaking a massive boundary for women. She’d have lots of media attention on her already. Combine that with the fact that this is New York and you can multiply that attention by 10. 

Our prediction? Lloyd won’t try out for any team this year but may explore some opportunities next year. One team lining up to give her a shot, if she makes the attempt, will be the Jets.