Josh Lambo isn’t the first name sports fans think of when they hear “two-sport athlete,” but he is among the small fraternity of athletes who have played in two American pro leagues, and now he’s hanging up the cleats.
Lambo, who was an NFL kicker and also a goalkeeper in Major League Soccer, announced on social media today that he will no longer play either sport.
“Today, I officially retire from pro sports. 4 years in MLS and 7 in the NFL have led me to things I could only dream of, and now I want to help others accomplish their goals as I become a speaker and author. Thank you to the fans who supported me and the teammates I worked with,” Lambo wrote.
Lambo was a first-round draft pick of the MLS in 2008, when he was only 17 years old, and played pro soccer until he was 2012, when he decided to give football a try and went to Texas A&M. In 2015 he signed as an undrafted rookie with the Chargers, spent two years with them, then played for the Jaguars from 2017 to 2021.
His departure from the Jaguars in 2021 may be how he’s best remembered in the NFL: His accusation that Jaguars coach Urban Meyer walked up to him on the practice field, said, “Hey, dipshit, make your fucking kicks,” and then kicked him in the leg, proved to be the last straw before Meyer’s firing in his first year as an NFL coach.
After Meyer cut Lambo in Jacksonville, he had a very brief stint on the Steelers’ practice squad, then he played one game for the Titans in 2022. Now he walks away after a unique athletic career.
NFL kicker and soccer player Josh Lambo announces retirement from both sports originally appeared on Pro Football Talk