One day after kicker Cade York received his least-glowing endorsement yet from the Browns, Cleveland is adding a veteran kicker. Dustin Hopkins has been acquired from the Chargers via trade, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds that Los Angeles will acquire a 2025 seventh-round pick as part of the deal. In a corresponding move, York has been cut, as first reported by the Score’s Jordan Schultz. 
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The news means Cameron Dicker has won the Chargers’ kicking competition, making Hopkins expendable. The latter will now head to Cleveland where he will provide a much more experienced option at the position compared to York. The Browns’ fourth-rounder from one year ago has struggled throughout the preseason, leading to speculation a move of some kind would need to be made.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski had publicly exuded confidence in York for much of this offseason, but the latter declined to confirm he would be the team’s Week 1 kicker yesterday. Now, his fate has been learned as a rough summer will result in him needing to find a fresh start to continue his NFL career, something which will be complicated by the flurry of moves made around the league this week.
York, 22, converted on 75% of his field goal tries and all but two of his extra points during his rookie season. His training camp and preseason performances represented a step back from those figures, though, and the team has decided to move on. Hopkins, by contrast, will have an immediate opportunity to hold down the kicking gig in a new home despite losing the Chargers’ competition.
The 32-year-old spent six-plus years in Washington before surprisingly being released. That led him to the Chargers, with whom he made 16 total appearances across two seasons. Hopkins – who missed time last year while dealing with a hamstring injury – went 27-for-30 on field goals and 42-for-44 on extra points during his time in Los Angeles. If he can duplicate that success in Cleveland, he will represent an upgrade over York, whose future with the Browns or another team will be worth watching.
Don’t draft a kicker. Ever. Full stop.
McPherson is pretty good
I mean, yeah, there are good kickers that were drafted, but McPherson is a rare exception to the rule. Most starters are former UDFAs or were not drafted by the team they are on now. For example, Jake Elliott was drafted by the Bengals and went on to become good…with another team. Justin Tucker was a UDFA. Dicker was signed off a PS. Look at the FG% leaders last season – the top 10 were all undrafted or not playing with their draft team.
Most kickers aren’t drafted. Daniel Carlson was. It’s a coin toss.if there’s a kicker worth drafting, you draft them if you need a kicker. A good kicker is more valuable than a #6 receiver
You’re right, but you also kind of proved DarkSide’s point. Carlson flopped with the Vikings and he’s been fine since, but not for the team that drafted him.
Flopped? He was 1-4 before they released him. I’d say the Vikings flopped. You don’t draft a kicker and then release him after 4 attempts. Cleveland gave York a whole season and he missed 5 FG’s in preseason
Is 1-4 supposed to be good? He missed three field goals in a game that they ended up tying, so he legitimately blew a game for them.
He’s a great kicker now but it’s hard to blame the Vikings for cutting bait at the time. Maybe he would have figured it out with the Vikings, but the original point that most kickers succeed with a team that didn’t draft them is still accurate.
You don’t cut a player after one bad game. Come on man. Of course you can blame the Vikings.
This “don’t draft a kicker” logic doesn’t draw a valid conclusion. Yes, most kickers, even successful kickers, are not drafted. But citing a few instances of drafted kickers having success with a team that didn’t draft them doesn’t mean drafting one ensures success only with another team. While figuring why a kicker is unsuccessful with one team but successful with another, or from one season to the next, is difficult, merely drafting one doesn’t ensure failure. Teams typically draft kickers in later rounds, where players’ success is expected less to begin with. If a team evaluates a kicker as having potential and reliability, it shouldn’t hesitate to draft him. Nobody ever argues you should never draft your backup corner or backup tight end because the successful ones are all undrafted. If you draft a kicker and he doesn’t work out, regret that he didn’t work out, not that you took a chance on him with the 130th pick in the draft.
Preseason stats mean nothing unless you’re a kicker
Next headline: Ravens sign Cade York to practice squad.
Then:
Justin Tucker retires
Cade York terrorizes browns for next 10-15 years
I’m an unabashed fan of kickers. Good kickers, bad kickers, kickers who have unpronounceable names and even kickers who like to take a pee break during nationally televised prime time games. You couldn’t have a football game without these guys. They are always taken for granted while successful but despised the second they miss a clutch FG.
Expected the Chargers to trade 1 of the 2. Per team history did expect them to keep the less expensive ‘Dicker the kicker’.
Commented yesterday about the Browns concern with “whatcha got to trade” but was hoping for more than a 7th
Two teams that come to mind who might take a flier on York is SF and Detroit. Obviously SF has Jake Moody as their kicker but until he’s off the injury report they need someone. Detroit needs a reliable kicker who can make a 50 yard FG.. maybe they call Arizona and try and bring back Matt Prater. Arizona is in full tank mode and don’t want anyone interfering with their pursuit of Caleb Williams..
Niners and Broncos should give him a try.
Detroit had the Money Badger to finish the season and he played well but they let him go for Riley Patterson who also played well last year for JAX. But JAX picked up Brandon McManus when Denver dropped him for Elliott Fry and Brett Maher. Maher also played well during the regular season but was dropped by Dallas for the Stallion.
I could keep it going but it is crazy how many good Kickers moved during the off-season.
Anyhow, Detroit is fine with Patterson he was 2/3 on 50 plus yards last year for JAX. 66% from beyond 50 is good enough. York was 4/7 from 50 plus last year, that’s only 57%. York also missed 2 XP last year whereas Patterson only missed 1. Patterson had a better overall performance than York last season.
York has a ton of talent and it wouldn’t shock me to see him figure it out and turn into a good kicker. But it wouldn’t have happened with the Browns, so even if he ends up being successful somewhere else, I think was the move they needed to make.
It looks like he either has the yips or his confidence tanked, and either of those will break you as a kicker. If he can figure out that part, he’ll be fine. It doesn’t always happen immediately.
Interesting how all NFL kickers have a big leg but many simply lack what it takes between the ears.