Cleveland has addressed its kicker problem.
After a rough preseason from 2022 fourth-round pick Cade York, the Browns have acquired Dustin Hopkins from the Chargers, according to multiple reports. Cleveland will send L.A. a 2025 seventh-round pick to complete the trade.
York will be waived, per multiple reports, making Hopkins the team’s kicker immediately.
Hopkins lost Los Angeles’ kicking job to Cameron Dicker. But Hopkins was 2-of-2 on field goals and 3-of-3 on extra points during the preseason.
After joining the Chargers in 2021, Hopkins kept the job entering 2022 but suffered a hamstring injury in October. He missed the rest of the season.
Before the injury, Hopkins was 9-of-10 on field goals, 12-of-12 on extra points, and sent 90 percent of his kickoffs for touchbacks.
Hopkins, 32, was Washington’s kicker from 2015-2021. He’s hit 85 percent of his career field goals and 94 percent of his extra points.
York connected on a 58-yard field goal to win Cleveland’s season-opener against Carolina last year. But he finished the season just 24-of-32 on his field goals and missed a pair of extra points.
While York has looked good in practice by all accounts, he was just 4-of-8 on his field goals this preseason — and those are the ones that counted. He also missed an extra point during Saturday’s preseason finale against the Chiefs that was wiped out by a penalty.