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Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski have apparently decided enough is enough when it comes to placekicker Cade York.
Two days after York had a game-winning field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs blocked, the Browns are reportedly cutting York, the team’s fourth-round draft pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Related: Cleveland Browns 53-man roster tracker
That is according to NFL reporter Jordan Schultz:
One of the most prolific kickers in SEC history, Cade York hit a 58-yard game-winner Week 1 of the 2022 season for the #Browns. York, out of LSU, now looks to find a new home and resurrect his career. https://t.co/VmStgA27Rh
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 28, 2023
To take York’s place, the Browns are reportedly sending a seventh-round selection in the 2025 draft to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for placekicker Dustin Hopkins, who lost the kicking battle in Los Angeles to Cameron Dicker.
That is according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter:
Trade: Browns traded a 2025 7th-round pick to the Chargers for kicker Dustin Hopkins, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 28, 2023
Hopkins is entering his 10th season in the NFL and has kicked for the Washington Commanders and the Chargers. He has converted 84.8 percent of his career field goals - including 82.2 percent from 40-plus yards - and 94.4 percent of his career extra points.
Last season in five games with the Chargers, he was perfect on 12 extra point attempts and hit nine of his 10 field goal attempts.
As for York, it has been a rocky time in Cleveland. He opened his NFL account by nailing a game-winning field goal against the Carolina Panthers in the opening game of the 2022 season but struggled to find any consistency throughout the season.
Despite a change in special teams coordinators, extensive work in the offseason, training camp and the preseason, and the unwavering public support of the organization, York continued to struggle when it mattered as he missed two field goals at the end of the preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles in addition to Saturday’s miscue against the Chiefs.
For a team that has playoff aspirations this fall, the Browns finally decided they could not wait any longer for York to find his form and have now turned to the veteran Hopkins to hopefully bring some stability to the position.
Follow along here as the Browns get down to 53 players on the active roster by Tuesday afternoon.
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