Carli Lloyd is serious about becoming an NFL kicker after finishing her USWNT career — 'I'm entertaining it'

Some NFL teams contacted her with real interest , even offering her a roster spot for their final preseason games.
She passed as the offers conflicted with her USWNT schedule.
She said on ESPN's "Laughter Permitted" podcast this week that she is still "entertaining" taking her talents to the gridiron after her illustrious soccer career comes to a close.
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Two-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Olympic gold medalist, and World Cup winner Carli Lloyd has made her name on the soccer pitch, but the United States Women's National Team (USWNT) captain is seriously considering taking her talents to the gridiron.

The 37-year-old striker went viral on social media in August when she nailed both a 40-yard and 55-yard field goal with relative ease at the Philadelphia Eagles' training camp. The display left football fans drooling and calling on their favorite teams to give her a shot in the NFL. In a recent appearance on ESPN's "Laughter Permitted" podcast , Lloyd revealed that she's seriously "entertaining" the idea of doing just that.

"I want to try it," Lloyd told former USWNT player Julie Foudy, who hosts the podcast. "I want to put a helmet on, and I want to put pads on, but first and foremost, I want to play soccer for as long as I can."

Lloyd said she has a history of hitting chip shots on the gridiron. She first gave it a try after the 2015 World Cup when she was on "Hard Knocks" with the Houston Texans. She kicked against then-Texans nose tackle Vince Wilfork and managed to knock in some easy field goals from 35 yards out.

She upped the ante when the USWNT took a trip to Dallas for training, hitting some 45- and 50-yard kicks through the uprights with relative ease. Then she hit her stride in front of the Eagles, her favorite NFL team.

"I just started hitting them. I didn't warm up, just went for it," Lloyd said. "Started at 25 and kept moving back. It was in the narrow uprights, so it was nine feet wide. So I actually hit a 57-yarder, but it only would've hit in a real 18-foot upright."

Carli Lloyd Catherine Ivill/FIFA/Getty Images

And when Foudy asked whether that was a stretch, Lloyd coolly replied that she "had probably 10 yards [left] on that one."

Lloyd's impressive strikes caught the eyes of more than just the average Joes glued to their TVs on autumn Sundays. Shortly after her big boot briefly took over the world of American football, Lloyd revealedthat some teams had contacted her with real interest . She was even invited to join a few rosters for the final preseason game of the year, a detail she elaborated on during her interview with Foudy.

"Two teams wanted me to play in a preseason game," Lloyd said. "But we [the USWNT] had a game in Philly that same night."

Lloyd said she thinks she received "more media coverage" after her big day in Philadelphia than she has in her entire soccer career and joked that "at least I have a plan B," but she seemed sincere when she told Foudy that she would consider a second life as an NFL placekicker after her illustrious USWNT and National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) careers come to a close.

"Why not?" she said. "There's a first for everything, right?"