Cade

York

York missed both of his field goal attempts against the Buccaneers on Sunday. The 23-year-old looked like one of the best kicking prospects to come out of the draft in a long time back in 2022, but maybe there’s no such thing as a kicking prospect. The Commanders will now be looking for a new kicker for Week 2 against the Giants. This is also somewhat significant for the Browns, as the York trade stipulated that York had to be on the roster for two games for the team to get a conditional seventh-round pick.

York will have a chance to compete with Riley Patterson for the Commanders’ kicker job after Patterson has struggled in camp and his two preseason games. York didn’t kick in a regular season game last year, and was 24-for-32 on his attempts in 2022. York has converted on both field goals he’s attempted this preseason, including one from 55 yards out. We’ll see where the Washington kicker battle goes from here, but York will undoubtedly put the heat on Patterson before the season.

York kicked in all 17 games for the Browns in 2022, converting on 75 percent of his field goals and 94.6 percent of his extra points. Despite spending time with the Titans and Giants in 2023, he was unable to land a spot on a 53-man roster and hasn’t kicked in an NFL game since his 2022 rookie campaign. Now back with the Browns, he’ll presumably have a chance to reclaim his role as the team’s starting kicker in camp this offseason.

York, a prodigious kicker at LSU who played his way out of Cleveland during the preseason, will square off with veteran Randy Bullock for the Giants’ kicking job after the team lost Graham Gano to a season-ending knee injury. Neither York nor Bullock would have much fantasy appeal attached to the Giants’ sluggish offense. The Giants are 11th in field goal attempts (17) this season.

Just moments after the Browns traded for Chargers kicker Dustin Hopkins, the team made the move to cut Cade York. York converted just 4-of-8 field goals this season and saw his final preseason attempt blocked by the Chiefs. York converted 24 of his 32 field goal attempts last season and will likely find another job at some point in the season.

Second-year kicker Cameron Dicker won the Chargers’ kicking competition, making Hopkins expendable. Now, Hopkins will get a chance to win the Browns starting kicker job over Cade York, who has struggled throughout training camp and the preseason. Hopkins made both of his preseason field goal attempts and has converted on 84.8 percent of his attempts for his career.

A bad preseason for York was punctuated by a blocked 43-yard field goal against the Chiefs. York converted 24-of-32 field goals last season but is at risk of being left off the 53-man roster come cutdown day. He made 4-of-8 field goals this preseason, with all of his misses coming inside of 50 yards. Even if York is the starter, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team bring in some added competition in the coming days.

York was the only kicker selected in the 2022 NFL Draft (124th overall), and reportedly hit field goals of 60+ yards in the first OTA opened to local media. Safety John Johnson said of York, “It could be a 30-yard kick. He’s going to hit it for 60. It flies through the uprights, accurate.” If you’re a fantasy football traditionalist, York could make for an interesting selection in fantasy drafts. Last season at LSU he converted 83.3% of his field goal attempts and was 5-of-7 on kicks of 50+ yards.

The Browns also released kicker Chris Blewitt. After drafting LSU kicker Cade York in the fourth round, the team had no plans of holding a kick-off in training camp. York joins a team that should be an elite offense in 2022, making him an intriguing fantasy option for leagues that still utilize the kicker position.

York (6’1/198) struggled with consistency early on in his time at LSU, but he also came in clutch for the Tigers on a number of occasions. With the Tigers, York made 15-of-18 (83.3%) of his field goal attempts in 2021. He was unable to play in the Texas Bowl with an undisclosed injury, which would have been his final game in the Purple and Gold. In the conversation for the Lou Groza Award multiple times, York finishes his college career having made 81.8% of his field goals and 97.6% of his extra-point attempts. York will take over for Chase McLaughlin in Cleveland, who converted just 71% of field goals for the Browns last season.