Lenny Krieg
Lenny C. Krieg is a German professional American football placekicker for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He has previously played for the Berlin Adler of the German Football League and the Stuttgart Surge of the European League of Football before joining the Falcons through the NFL's International Player Pathway program.
Early life
Growing up in Berlin, Krieg primarily played soccer prior to his American football career. After his older brother returned from university in Wisconsin enthusing about the game, Krieg began to take interest. Initially, his brother recommended that he play defense, but Krieg was hesitant, as he had concerns as to the safety of playing collision-heavy positions. Instead, he trained as a placekicker, teaching himself how to kick an American football by watching tutorials on YouTube and Instagram.Professional career
Berlin Adler
In 2021, Krieg began his professional football career playing in the German Football League for the U19 team of the Berlin Adler, where his brother had been hired as a coach. After a successful debut in which he became North German champion of the GFL Juniors in 2021, he was promoted the senior team in 2022. He was later voted the Adler's Rookie of the Year for 2022.Stuttgart Surge
In 2023, he moved up to the European League of Football to play for the Stuttgart Surge. In the 2023 regular season, Krieg converted eight out of ten field goal attempts, and was subsequently re-signed for the 2024 season.In February 2025, he participated in the NFL Combine after joining the NFL's International Player Pathway program. He had a perfect performance on the field at the combine, converting all 14 field goal attempts without a single missed kick, the only one out of the 12 kickers present to do so.
Atlanta Falcons
Following his impressive combine performance, Krieg signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons on March 27, 2025. He was waived on August 26 as part of final roster cuts and signed to the practice squad the following day.New York Jets
On January 12, 2026, Krieg signed a reserve/future contract with the New York Jets.Personal life
While playing for the Surge, Krieg had to commute six and a half hours by train every week for practices and games, while simultaneously working a real estate job to help pay for rent.Krieg is of Nigerian descent.