No Place Like Home for Matthews NFL Player

MATTHEWS, NC — The odds of a high school football player making it to the NFL are astronomical! You need the talent and the drive to get there. Plus you need some luck.

And as one local product shows us, it doesn’t hurt to have lots of love on your side.

“Raised by my mother, grandmother and grandfather,” says Houston Texans offensive lineman Kendall Lamm. “So (I) live right down here behind Matthews United Methodist. I’ve lived there forever. Still with my grandparents. I love them to death.”

There seems to be no off season in the NFL these days, but Kendall Lamm makes time to make it home. Back to where it all started, in his grandparents’ house.

“In middle school, I found a piece of paper in his room one day, and he didn’t know that I took it,” says Kendall’s grandmother Susan Lamm. “But it was his dream, and it was to be a professional, O-line football player.”

And that dream is now reality.

Crestdale Middle, Butler High and then the jump to Appalachian State.

He wasn’t drafted in 2015, but the Texans came calling, signing him as an undrafted free agent.

“Coming in as rookies, we don’t know anything,” says Lamm. “We’re new to the league. But I’m not a rookie anymore; thank the Lord! So now things have slowed down for me.”

Lamm made the team as a rookie, and made his NFL regular season debut in his own backyard, against the Panthers, with family and friends in the stands.

“Kendall was on the field, and I’m telling you his friends, coaches… it was unbelievable,” says Susan.

“It was surreal,” says Kendall. “Very surreal.”

The 6-foot-6, 310 pounder is putting in work at D1 Sports in Matthews before training camp starts. He is staying connected to his old coaches. And getting ready for season two in the league.

He’s also keeping an eye on his money, and planning for the day he can give back to those who have given him everything.

“I’m trying to continue to be successful in the league; help my mother big time when the time comes,” says Lamm. “She’s been a waitress her whole life. So I want to get to the point where I can tell her it’s okay. It’s time for you to relax. Let me take care of it. Let me put some money aside for you.”

Lamm played in 15 games for the Texans last season; starting four of those. He’s entering the second year of his 3-year rookie contract.