Dawgs By Nature
Quite simply, the Cleveland Browns needed just one of three things not to happen in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals and Victory Monday could be at hand. Blame can be shared with Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman’s drops that became interceptions (Joe Flacco’s pass to both were not perfect and luck played a bit of a role as well), but Andre Szymt’s missed extra point and missed field goal are clearly on him.
While other rookies looked good, Szymt’s misses bring back up the decision the team made to cut Dustin Hopkins in favor of the rookie. Understandably, Browns fans are now on the lookout for free agent kicker options to replace Szymt. HC Kevin Stefanski was non-committal about replacing the kicker after the game and the team has tended to be more patient than fans would want, in general.
According to Over the Cap, the following are out on the free agent market, including five former Cleveland kickers:
Re-signing Hopkins two weeks after taking a dead cap hit to release him would be fodder for more angst toward the team’s front office, but, along with York, might be the most realistic option for the team.
There are also a few players currently on other teams’ practice squads that could be signed to the Browns active roster:
A few veteran names on the list, we will see if any of them end up having a tryout in Berea early this week.
