The Cleveland Browns showed plenty of fight in a narrow Week 1 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, but a lot of fingers were pointed at kicker Andre Szmyt, who left four points on the board that could have won the game.
Szmyt missed an extra point in the third quarter and a field goal late in the fourth quarter that would have given Cleveland the lead, which caused many fans to publicly push for a new kicker.
Insider Mary Kay Cabot said recently that she believes the Browns should have used another kicker for the Week 2 matchup against the Ravens.
“I don’t think they want to give up on [Andre Szmyt] too early. But for this particular week, I probably would have used another kicker. .. I don’t know that there are that many great kickers out there that would represent an upgrade for you this week, but when you miss a 33 and a 36 (yard kick), I think that I would have done something to feel a little bit more confident about that aspect of your game. You don’t want to go 0-2 because of a kicker,” Cabot said.
📞"They don't want to give up on him too early, but for this particular week I probable would have used a different kicker… I wondered if they'd think about signing Jake Moody."@MaryKayCabot w/ @KenCarmanShow on the #Browns kicking situation🏈
🔊: https://t.co/DNBD7Ug0Xj pic.twitter.com/Dh7qHBfK5c
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) September 11, 2025
Going with another kicker isn’t typically a temporary solution, so if the Browns used one in Week 2 and he didn’t miss, that could easily be the end of Szmyt’s brief time with the team.
The Browns released Dustin Hopkins after a shaky preseason on the heels of a rough showing last year, and Szmyt has now reopened the door for more criticism of the position.
They obviously saw something they liked to give Szmyt a chance to make his NFL debut, and one game shouldn’t be enough to throw that away.
That being said, if he misses kicks again, that could change quickly.
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