The Cleveland Browns currently play outside in the conditions, but they won’t be doing that forever. The organization is building a new domed stadium that is planned to open for the 2029 season.
Browns kicker Andre Szmyt recently sat down with Cleveland Browns Daily to discuss kicking in his new dome. Szmty spoke about the challenges he faces kicking outside and how it could be a significant adjustment making it indoors for home games.
“Yes and no,” said Szmyt said. when asked if kickers like kicking in domes. “Obviously, when I was in college, I played at Syracuse. I love the dome, of course, but after spending some time outside, always practicing outside. It’s having the wind play the ball and then what it’s going to do after it gets in the ari is kind of cool because when you’re inside, you’re like, ‘Well, where do I play it? What’s going to happen?’ You hope you just hit a clean ball that it goes straight, but what if I hit a little off the toe and it’s a little bit of a push, you know? I know in certain wind conditions, if it’s a left-to-right, I can’t push it no matter what. So, there’s kind of like, ‘Okay, I can hit this more of like a draw and then stay online and stuff, but when I get indoors, I’m like ‘What do I do now? Like, just hit it straight?’ I think it’s just being outside so much and always practicing in the elements. You get inside, it’s like ‘All right, all I got to do is just hit good? That’s it?”
Szmyt is currently in his second season with the Browns, and he’s looking like he could be the answer to the Browns’ long-time kicker problem. Last season, Szmyt connected on 88 percent of his field goals, and he only missed one extra point kick in 17 games. The 28-year-old has been perfect through the first four games of the 2026 season. Szmyt has knocked down all eight field goal attempts and seven extra point kicks as well.
Despite the elements, Szmyt has been perfect both on the road and at home. The move to playing full-time in a dome will be an adjustment, but he’s talented enough to make that jump. As Szmyt mentioned, kickers get used to kicking in the wind and rain all the time that it’s almost weird for them to kick in domes. Having no wind can almost throw them off their game mentally.
It’s certainly going to be an adjustment for Szmyt to kick in a dome instead of the outdoor elements in Cleveland, but he seems mentally prepared for the challenge. Szmyt struggled when he first joined the Browns, but quickly made the correct adjustments and is now one of the most consistent kickers in the league right now. The dome is going to play a factor, but the second-year kicker understands what he needs to do to get the job done.
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