Justin Charles Medlock (born October 23, 1983) is an American professional football placekicker who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

. He most recently played for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played college football for the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

(UCLA), and earned consensus All-American honors. The

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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Medlock has also played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats,

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

and Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, as well as the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL).

Early years

Medlock was born in Fremont, California. He attended Mission San Jose High School In Fremont, and played for the Mission San Jose Warriors

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team as both a punter and placekicker. Medlock was ranked ninth in the country and was all-county and all-league at both positions. He averaged 43.1 yards per punt as a punter and made 11 out of 19

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

in his junior and senior years.

College career

Medlock attended

, where he played for the UCLA Bruins football team from 2003 to 2006. He set a UCLA career record with six field goals of fifty yards or more, and was a four-year letterman. Overall, he completed 70 field goals on 80 attempts, and 147 of 148

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

attempts. As a senior in 2006, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Medlock was drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 160th overall pick. Medlock was thought to go into the preseason competing with

Lawrence Tynes Lawrence James Henry Tynes (born May 3, 1978) is a Scottish-born former American football placekicker. After playing soccer for Milton High School a coach suggested he try out for the football team as a kicker. He played college football at Troy ...

for the kicking job, but the Chiefs traded Tynes to the New York Giants, thus making Medlock the

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

starter. Medlock was inconsistent in the preseason, making 3 of 6 kicks; the Chiefs released Medlock on September 10, 2007, after he converted a 27-yard field goal and missed on a 30-yard attempt in

Week 1 A week is a unit of time equal to seven days. It is the standard time period used for short cycles of days in most parts of the world. The days are often used to indicate common work days and rest days, as well as days of worship. Weeks are oft ...

against the Houston Texans, and signed

Dave Rayner David Michael Rayner (born October 26, 1982) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan ...

as a replacement.

St. Louis Rams

On February 11, 2008, Medlock signed with the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

. The Rams allowed Medlock to seek a trade after the signing of Josh Brown. He was later released on August 26, 2008.

Toronto Argonauts

Medlock signed with the

on April 16, 2009 and competed with fellow new import kicker Eddie Johnson for the kicking spot vacated by the retirement of

Mike Vanderjagt Michael John Vanderjagt ( ; born March 24, 1970) is a Canadian former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, primarily with the Indianapolis Colts. He served as the Colts' placekicker from 1998 to ...

. At the end of training camp, the Argos elected to keep both kickers and coach

Bart Andrus Bart Andrus (born March 30, 1958) is an American football coach and a former collegiate player who is the head coach and general manager for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL). He has served as head coach for the ...

elected to start Johnson for game one and placed Medlock on the practice roster. Johnson, however, was injured on the opening

kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (mag ...

when he separated his shoulder when tackling the return man and Medlock was slated to kick for game two of the 2009 Toronto Argonauts season. On August 14, 2009, Medlock scored seven field goals, tying

Lance Chomyc Lance Chomyc (born March 2, 1963) is a former placekicker from 1985 to 1993 for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. In 1986 and 1991, he was a CFL All-Star. He was most recently an English teacher at Bear Creek Secondary Scho ...

's Argonauts single-game team record and just short of the league record of eight shared by

Dave Ridgway David Ridgway (born April 24, 1959) is a former placekicker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. His CFL career began in 1981 when he was drafted by the Montreal Alouettes. He did not make the squad that year and retur ...

Mark McLoughlin Mark McLoughlin (born October 26, 1965) is a former placekicker in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders from 1988 to 2003 and the BC Lions in 2005. He won three Grey Cups for the Stampeders in 1992, 1998, and 2001, and was the ...

, and

Paul Osbaldiston Paul Osbaldiston (born April 27, 1964) is a former punter and placekicker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League from 1986-2003. He was the Assistant Special Teams/Kicking Coach for the Tiger-Cats until 2014. Osbaldiston w ...

Washington Redskins

On February 12, 2010, 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

signed Medlock to a future contract. He was waived on June 14, 2010.

Detroit Lions

On June 15, 2010, the Detroit Lions claimed him off waivers. He was waived on June 29, 2010.

Omaha Nighthawks

Medlock was signed by the

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010. During their first season, the Nighthawks played their home gam ...

of the United Football League on September 8, 2010.

Toronto Argonauts (II)

With struggles by incumbent placekicker

Grant Shaw Grant Shaw (born August 3, 1984) is a professional Canadian football placekicker and punter who is currently a free agent. He was drafted eleventh overall by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2010 CFL Draft and signed with the team on May 22, 2010. H ...

, the Toronto Argonauts elected to re-sign Medlock through the

2011 CFL season The 2011 CFL season was the 58th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 54th season of the Canadian Football League. The complete schedule was released on February 18 and featured the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal ...

. On October 12, 2010, Medlock was released by the Argonauts after the team traded for kicker Noel Prefontaine.

Edmonton Eskimos

On October 14, 2010, Medlock was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On March 21, 2011, Medlock was traded by the Eskimos to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He enjoyed a strong 2011 season with Hamilton, making 49 of 55 field goals while also handling punting and kickoff duties. He became a free agent on February 15, 2012.

Carolina Panthers

Medlock signed a 3-year contract with the

on March 7, 2012. On November 20, 2012, after missing field goals in 3 straight games, Medlock was waived by the Carolina Panthers.

Oakland Raiders

On August 27, 2013, he was signed by the Oakland Raiders. On August 31, 2013, he was waived by the Raiders.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (II)

On January 8, 2014, Medlock signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Medlock signed with the

on February 9, 2016. Medlock set career highs in made field goals (60), attempts (68) and longest field-goal (58 yards) during the 2016 season. Following the season he was named the West Division nominee for Special Teams Player of the Year. He was named a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career, and was named

CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player The John Agro Special Teams Award is presented to the CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams player that is voted by his peers. The award is named in honour of John Agro, co-founder (in 1965) of the Canadian Football League Players' Association, with ...

for the 2016 season. Following the season he was re-signed by the Bombers, preventing him from becoming a

free-agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in February 2017. Medlock continued his strong play for the following two seasons, punting the ball 200 times (average of 44.1 yards per kick) while converting 98 of 117 field goal attempts (83.8%). On January 7, 2019, Medlock and the Bombers agreed to another two-year extension. Medlock's reliable foot helped lead the Blue Bombers to the

107th Grey Cup The 107th Grey Cup decided the champion of the 2019 season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The match was played on November 24, 2019, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. Wi ...

in 2019. There he kicked six field goals, tying a CFL record, as the Blue Bombers won the Grey Cup. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

and he became a

on February 9, 2021.

Personal life

Medlock is married to LPGA golfer Hannah Jun Medlock.

References

External links

Winnipeg Blue Bombers bio

UCLA Bruins bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medlock, Justin 1983 births Living people All-American college football players American players of Canadian football American football placekickers Canadian football placekickers Canadian football punters Carolina Panthers players Detroit Lions players Edmonton Elks players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Kansas City Chiefs players Omaha Nighthawks players People from Fremont, California Players of American football from California Sportspeople from Alameda County, California St. Louis Rams players Toronto Argonauts players UCLA Bruins football players Washington Redskins players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players