Report: Jaguars File Motion to Dismiss Former Kicker Josh Lambo's Lawsuit
The Jacksonville Jaguars reportedly took a legal step to get former kicker Josh Lambo's May lawsuit thrown out.
According to The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan, the Jaguars filed a legal motion Wednesday to dismiss Lambo's lawsuit, which is seeking for the Jaguars to pay his $3.5 million salary from 2021 plus damages.
Lambo, who the Jaguars released last October after a rough stretch, is centering his lawsuit around former head coach Urban Meyer's allegedly kicking him during warmups.
The final major story to come out during Meyer's tenure with the Jaguars was, of course, Lambo's allegations to the Tampa Bay Times that Meyer kicked him during a warmup before the 2021 season. Meyer was fired hours after the story was released, with the Jaguars stating that Meyer's firing was several days in the works.
“I’m in a lunge position. Left leg forward, right leg back,” Lambo told the Tampa Bay Times. “... Urban Meyer, while I’m in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, ‘Hey Dips---, make your f------ kicks!’ And kicks me in the leg.”
Meyer, who has since denied the claims, was fired within 12 hours of Lambo's story being published. The Jaguars, however, have been steadfast in saying they reached out to Lambo and his team following the incident.
"In the Jaguars motion, they allege Lambo did not reply to a follow up after his agent reported Meyer’s kick," Kaplan said,
“Club's legal counsel ‘acknowledged and responded immediately to the query made by Lambo's agent,’" the motion reads.
“Plaintiff does not allege he or his agent ever responded to the inquiry made by Club's legal counsel offering to follow up with Plaintiff, with Mr. Meyer and/or with Club management.”
The Jaguars also say they can't be sued for retaliation under the Florida Whistleblower Act because it wasn't the club that instructed Meyer to "assault" Lambo.“
Plaintiff's case is predicated solely on the alleged criminal acts of Urban Meyer, not any policy, practice or activity of club,” the motion reads.Former Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo is reportedly kicking around another option following his allegations against former head coach Urban Meyer.
According to Stroud's reporting of Lambo's lawsuit in May, the former kicker is "seeking his $3.5 million salary for 2021, plus damages for emotional distress. The lawsuit says Lambo’s performance suffered as a result of being kicked and verbally abused by then-head coach Urban Meyer."
"The lawsuit, filed in the 4th Judicial Circuit Court in Duval County on Tuesday, claims Meyer and the Jaguars created a hostile work environment," Stroud wrote. "Since Lambo reported the incident to the Jaguars’ legal counsel, his subsequent release violated Florida’s Private Sector Whistle Blower’s Act, the lawsuit claims."
The Jaguars released Lambo on Oct. 19 last season after he started the preseason in a slump and continued throughout the regular season, eventually being replaced by Matthew Wright after Week 6.
Lambo struggled out of the gate in 2021, missing several kicks in the preseason and then starting 0-for-3 on field goals in the first three games of the season. In Lambo's final game with the Jaguars, he also missed two extra-point attempts.
Lambo's accuracy issues led to Wright being signed by the Jaguars prior to Week 4. Wright made three PATs in Week 4, but him and Lambo would compete over the next two weeks of practice to earn the right to be named the starting kicker for game days.
Wright won the competition both weeks. He struggled in Week 5, missing a 50+ yard field goal attempt and one PAT. But in Week 6, Wright was automatic, going 3-of-3 on field goals and making 54- and 53-yard field goals in the final four minutes of the game.
Wright's three field goals against the Dolphins were the first any Jaguars kicker made last year season. Lambo, the fourth-most accurate placekicker in NFL history, missed a field-goal attempt in each of the Jaguars’ first two preseason games.
Lambo appeared in 46 games during his five years with the Jaguars. During that time, Lambo was one of the league's most accurate kickers, including leading the NFL in field goal % in 2019.
