The Cleveland Browns made a strong statement in the offseason, signing kicker Dustin Hopkins to a three-year, $15.9 million contract after his strong season in 2023.
Hopkins was nearly automatic for the Browns last year, making 33 of his 36 field goal attempts and all but two of his extra-point tries for Cleveland.
The kicker earned 123 total points, the second-most points in team history behind only Jim Brown’s record of 126 points in 1965.
This year, he’s been anything but automatic for the Browns.
Through 14 games, Hopkins has missed nine of the 25 field goals he’s attempted.
He’s also missed three extra-point attempts in 2024, including one on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
His performance this season has been poor enough for the team to sign a former UFL standout to the practice squad, inking a deal with kicker Andre Szmyt on Monday.
The #Browns are signing UFL standout K Andre Szmyt to the practice squad, source says.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) December 24, 2024
Szmyt played collegiately at Syracuse, connecting on 85 of the 105 field goals he attempted and 199 of the 203 extra-point attempts he took.
The Chicago Bears signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2023, but the team cut him in August of that same year.
Earlier in 2024, Szmyt played with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL and re-signed with the team after his performance.
Hopkins missed one game this season, a Week 15 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Browns had signed kicker Riley Patterson before the team’s matchup with the Chiefs to give Hopkins a break from his kicking duties and extra time to work on his craft.
Patterson was relegated to the practice squad after the Kansas City contest, and the Atlanta Falcons swooped in and signed him last week.
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