USWNT midfielder Carli Lloyd hit a 55-yard field goal at Eagles practice Tuesday and one Hall of Fame evaluator thinks the Bears should give her a real chance to become an NFL kicker.
Gil Brandt was put into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year. He was the chief talent scout for the Cowboys from 1960-1988 and was integral to the team's drafting of Roger Staubach, Herschel Walker and Bob Hayes.
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What he says matters and he believes the Bears should try out Lloyd.
"Honestly, I don't think it will be long before we see a woman break through this NFL barrier," Brandt wrote on Twitter. "I'd give (Lloyd) an honest tryout if I were, say, the Bears."
Honestly, I don't think it will be long before we see a woman break through this NFL barrier. I'd give her an honest tryout if I were, say, the Bears. https://t.co/pyIlIY6Jxv
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) August 20, 2019
The Bears have been looking for a kicker since cutting Cody Parkey soon after he missed a game-winning field goal in the wild-card round against the Eagles in January. Chicago has had as many as five kickers in camp and hasn't settled on a starter as of yet.
Right now Eddy Pineiro is slated to be the team's placekicker. The team waived Elliott Fry, who was competing with Pineiro for the spot, on Sunday but coach Matt Nagy does not sound like he's all that committed to the 23-year-old.
“The way I look at it is it’s a great opportunity for him to see what he can do,” Nagy said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “Human nature is whenever there’s two people for one spot, No. 1, every rep is getting cut in half and then mentally you just don’t know. Now there’s a little more clarity.
“It wasn’t easy because they were very close. But that’s what we decided to do. We’re rolling forward with that and now he has two games here to show us what he can do.”
Lloyd is a two-time Women's World Cup champion, a three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She currently plays for Sky Blue FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).