Bengals to face a new Browns kicker in Week 1 matchup
The Cincinnati Bengals' regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns will feature an interesting storyline in the forgotten phase of the game: special teams. Cleveland has opted to trade their 2025 seventh-round draft pick for kicker Dustin Hopkins and subsequently waived second-year kicker Cade York.York isn't just a kicker entering his second season in the […]
The Cincinnati Bengals' regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns will feature an interesting storyline in the forgotten phase of the game: special teams.
Cleveland has opted to trade their 2025 seventh-round draft pick for kicker Dustin Hopkins and subsequently waived second-year kicker Cade York.
York isn't just a kicker entering his second season in the league, he was the Browns' fourth-round draft pick in 2022. And now he'll have to find a new team to resurrect his young career.
York's dismissal and immediate replacing comes after a tumultuous preseason for the 22-year old York. He missed a field goal in each of the Browns' three preseason games and went 4-for-8 overall. For a team that needs to win right now, they need a kicker they can rely on.
The Bengals will be the first to witness if Hopkins is the answer for the orange and brown. As a rookie, York made two of three fields when playing the Bengals. In comparison, Hopkins has made six of his nine attempts in three career games against the Bengals.
Drafting a kicker in of itself is a tricky proposition considering the hit rate for clubs is very low. Using a pick just outside the top 100 increases the risk to a point where the reward doesn't appear worth it.
A year prior to the Browns drafting York, the Bengals spent a fifth-round pick on Evan McPherson, who is not only still with the team, but looks primed to have his best season yet after going 8-for-8 in preseason action this month.
It would take quite the meltdown from McPherson for the Bengals to replace him like the Browns did to York. For now, the Bengals seem to have a leg up (no pun intended) on their in-state rivals.
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