The Cleveland Browns desperately needed to fix their kicker position in 2025. Dustin Hopkins struggled in 2024 after an impressive first year with the team, and he cost them way too many times.
That’s why they brought in Andre Szmyt to solve their woes. And while it seemed like he was going to lead to even more headaches, he wound up being pretty solid. With that in mind, Irie Harris of Cleveland.com had high praise for Szmyt.
In his latest column, he chose him as one of the biggest winners of the season:
“Winner: Andre Szmyt,” Harris wrote. “There’s that saying: ‘when you’re at rock bottom, the only way is up.’ Nobody epitomized this more than kicker Andre Szmyt. He left four points off the board for the Browns in the season opening loss, including a 36-yard miss that would’ve won it. Most kickers would’ve lost their confidence after that kind of start to the season, let alone their actual professional debut. Szmyt went back to the drawing board and rose above his shaky start.”
Multiple fans and even members of the media called for Szmyt to be let go after his debacle in the season opener. Fortunately for him and for the team, the coaching staff ignored all of those pleas. They hung onto him, and that ultimately proved to be the right call.
Szmyt finished the season with 24 field goals made in 27 attempts, including a 55-yarder. He also knocked down 25 of 26 PATs.
While those numbers may not necessarily pop out, we’re talking about a team that didn’t have many scoring opportunities last season. Ironically, that’s also why having a reliable kicker is so crucial to this organization, as they simply cannot afford to have someone wasting the few opportunities they have to put up points on the scoreboard.
Hopefully, that’s going to change with the next head coach. Kevin Stefanski was supposed to be an offensive guru and specialist, yet the Browns rarely benefited from his sharp offensive mind. Now, whoever takes the reins of the team will have the challenge to figure out whether to roll with Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and someone else.
And regardless of who’s behind center, he’ll have to do plenty of work to fix the offense as a whole.
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