It was always a long shot that Lauren Silberman would wind up impressing an NFL team so much during a regional combine that they wound up signing her for a chance to compete to become their kicker this summer.
It’s a much longer shot after her day at the New York/New Jersey Regional Scouting Combine, held at Jets headquarters in New Jersey, ended early because of an injury. Mike Garafolo of USA Today reports that Silberman landed awkwardly after her first kickoff, which traveled just 16 yards, and then asked to see a trainer after a 14-yard kick on her second try.
She would come back on the field once more, but Garafolo writes that she had a noticeable limp and never kicked again before the end of the session. And that was the end of a disappointing day for the first woman to participate in a league-sponsored tryout.
As we said, it was always a long shot that Silberman, who played soccer at Wisconsin, would get past the combine stage but it’s still too bad that an injury got in the way of her giving it her best shot.