There wasn’t a lot that went right for the 2025 Cleveland Browns, who finished the season 5-12 and started four different quarterbacks again. The offense was arguably the worst in the NFL, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that things are looking up and 2026 will feature continued growth and development on both sides of the ball.
One thing that definitely didn’t go wrong for the Browns last year was the kicking game as 27-year-old rookie Andre Szmyt quietly surfaced as one of the most reliable kickers in the league. In his first year of action, he missed just three of his 27 field goal attempts and one extra point, all of which took place in the first half of the season.
Heading into Year 2, Szmyt continues to ingratiate himself within the community, and he had a cool opportunity on Friday. The Egypt National Team is practicing in Cleveland as they prepare for the upcoming 2026 World Cup and the Browns’ X account shared a jersey swap as the two teams got to meet up, with Szmyt doing a jersey swap with legendary Egyptian footballer Mo Salah.
“Andre Szmyt and [Mo Salah] met up for a jersey swap with the @EgyptNT practicing at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus before their match vs. Brazil tomorrow at [Huntington Bank Field],” the Cleveland Browns posted.
Andre Szmyt and @MoSalah met up for a jersey swap with the @EgyptNT practicing at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus before their match vs. Brazil tomorrow at @HuntingtonBkFld ⚽️🤝🏈 pic.twitter.com/gOQ5bbU2dp
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 5, 2026
This is certainly not the pairing anybody would have ever expected, but it was great to see them get a chance to meet. Hopefully the two were able to exchange a few kicking tips that could help each other out in their respective fields and this doesn’t create another positional controversy heading into the 2026 season for the Browns.
Unlike the recent Jared Verse/Dillon Gabriel jersey controversy, it was smooth sailing between these two. With Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders battling it out for QB1 duties, the last thing the team needed was another controversy.
Salah has a daunting task ahead of him given the lack of depth on Egypt’s roster. He is going to have to be every bit the superstar he is to help his squad make some noise in the World Cup over the next few weeks.
Szmyt, on the other hand, just has to keep doing what he is doing. He had an excellent rookie season and will look to build on that foundation in Year 2.
NEXT: Analyst Names Browns QB Question That Training Camp Will Finally Answer
