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According to Zac Jackson of FOX Sports Ohio, the Cleveland Browns tried out two kickers on Tuesday:
The Browns tried out two kickers today, Michael Barnard and Zach Hocker.
— Zac Jackson (@FSOhioZJackson) December 2, 2014
After starting the season 15-of-17 on field goals, K Billy Cundiff has been 6-of-10 over the team's past four games, missing one field goal in each game. He gets a pass for missing the 60-yard field goal attempt against the Falcons two weeks ago, but his other misses during that stretch have come from 44, 38, and 37 yards out. Cundiff is still among the better kickers in the NFL on kickoffs, but he remains the worst kicker in NFL history from beyond 50 yards, which is truly a limiting factor when it comes to securing points while in a playoff hunt.
Michael Barnard actually made a YouTube video of himself attempting kickoffs and field goals last week. He's also good from 57 and 60 yards out...while his girlfriend holds a puppy and the football! Barnard isn't a rookie -- he's been trying to catch on with various NFL teams and football teams in other leagues for years now, but there must be a reason why he hasn't caught on.
Zach Hocker was a 7th round pick by the Washington Redskins this past May. Hocker was 2/3 during the preseason, which wasn't enough to beat out K Kai Forbath, so he was released. Both kickers went back-and-forth during training camp, but Hocker missed a 39-yard field goal in the preseason finale. Seeing a missed field goal isn't a good sign, but at the same time, it's such a small sample to go off of.
Neither player was signed, but after the coaches review the tape, we'll likely find out by today if they decided to make a change at the position, or simply send a message to Cundiff like they did to LS Christian Yount earlier this season.