Lindley Franklin Elliott Jr. (born November 11, 1968) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, United States. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams us ...

. He earned a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

ring playing for the Cowboys in

Super Bowl XXVII Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

, beating the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Early life

Elliott attended

Waco High School Waco High School is a public high school located in the city of Waco, Texas and classified as a 6A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Waco Independent School District located in central McLennan County. In 2015, the school was rated “ ...

, where he practiced football and soccer. In soccer, he was a four-time All-district selection. He walked on at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

. As a sophomore, he was named the starter at placekicker, making 9 out of 19 field goal attempts (47.4%). As a junior, he made 14 out of 17 field goal attempts for a school record 82.4%. As a senior, he made 17 (tied school record) out of 26 field goal attempts, set the school's consecutive extra point record (85) and was second in the conference with 85 points. Against Cal State Fullerton University, he tied the school record for field goals in a game with 4 (all over 40 yards), including a career-long tying 52-yarder. Elliott finished as the school's all-time leading scorer at the time (220 points), while making 40 out of 62 field goal attempts (64.5%) and 100 (school record) out of 101 extra points (64.5%). In 2015, he was inducted into the Texas Tech Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Elliott was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

after the

1992 NFL draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott M ...

, to compete as the replacement for

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

Ken Willis. He recovered from a pulled groin muscle in training camp, to be named the starter over

Brad Daluiso Bradley William Daluiso (born December 31, 1967) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Oakland Raiders. He played college footb ...

. He started the regular season slowly until hitting 13 straight field goals and registering 27 touchbacks, which at the time were both franchise records. His 24 field goals were a rookie record and third in club history. His 3 field goals over 50 yards in a single-season ranked second in franchise history. His 119 points set a team rookie record, while ranking fourth in the NFL and leading all rookies. He was part of the

winning team. In 1993, he missed an extra point attempt in the season opener against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. He missed two field goals in the 10–13 loss against the

in the second game, contributing to a 0–2 start. On September 14, he was released.

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 7, 1994, he signed as a free agent with the

. He registered 25-of-30 field goals (83.3%). In 1995, he made 24 of 30 field goals (80%), contributing to the team going 13–3 in the regular season and clinching home field advantage throughout the playoffs, making them heavy favorites. But he is best remembered for missing three field goal attempts from 35, 39, and 42 yards in a 10–7 playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts in January 1996. He suffered a late-season swoon, as his final miss against the Colts was his ninth missed kick in five games. On February 16, 1996, the Chiefs decided not to make him a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent, effectively releasing him, even though he had an 81.7% field goal accuracy during his two seasons, ranking as the second-most accurate kicker in Chiefs history.

Minnesota Vikings

On August 1, 1996, he signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

as a free agent. He was released before the season started on August 20. This marked the end of his NFL career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Lin 1968 births Living people American football placekickers Dallas Cowboys players Kansas City Chiefs players Sportspeople from Euless, Texas Players of American football from Tarrant County, Texas Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Waco High School alumni