Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Andrew Berry: Dustin Hopkins stabilized our kicking game last year

Word that the Browns and kicker Dustin Hopkins agreed to a three-year contract extension came on Monday afternoon and the team made the signing official on Wednesday.

Hopkins is now signed through 2027 with a pact that is set to pay him $15.9 million. That’s a strong commitment for a player who was acquired in a trade last August after failing to win the Chargers job and General Manager Andrew Berry said in a statement that Hopkins earned it with his performance after arriving in Cleveland.

“When we traded for Dustin at the end of last year’s training camp it was with the intent of stabilizing our ability to produce in high leverage kicking situations,” Berry said. “He was not only able to accomplish this goal in the most difficult kicking environment in the NFL, but also quickly endeared himself to our locker room through his work ethic, team-orientation and relatability. We’re pleased to have Dustin and his family — Gabby, Wake and Wiley — in Cleveland for the next several seasons.”

For his part, Hopkins said that the Browns are “the best run organization I’ve been a part of” and that he feels right at home in Cleveland.

“I had a whole new feeling pulling in as far as the familiarity from being here last year, but also a place that is like, ‘Hey, this is this is going to be home for a while now.’ So, it feels great,” Hopkins said in a statement. “I’ve been telling other people that have not interacted with people from Cleveland haven’t been here, first and foremost, how great all the people I’ve interacted with have been – not just in the building, but even outside in the city. Just like a good hard working people group that are kind and friendly, but also have a nice grit to them. I think it’s a great combination. So, I’m excited.”

The Browns still have Cade York on their 90-man roster, but it seems likely that he’ll be auditioning for other clubs for the remainder of his time with the team.