It took them long enough, but the Cleveland Browns eventually realized that the Cade York experiment needed to come to an end.
Talent aside, the young kicker struggled to establish himself mentally in the game, up to the point where he was even missing kicks in practice and just seemed to lack confidence.
Notably, bringing in Dustin Hopkins made a huge impact on the organization, and he proved why he had been in the league for so long.
So, after a very successful season under Bubba Ventrone’s tutelage, the team decided to lock him up for several years with a big contract extension.
That’s great news, according to team legend Josh Cribbs.
As a fellow special teamer, Cribbs called it a well-deserved contract extension as the game is often decided by inches in a video “The Return With Josh & Maria Cribbs” Podcast shared on Twitter, as well as how many games Hopkins won for the Browns last season.
Dustin Hopkins is locked into a 3-year deal, making him a top 5 paid kicker in the league.
Well deserved?
"I think it's tremendous, and I think it was well warranted."
–@JoshCribbs16 pic.twitter.com/9G83VE2H96
— The Return With Josh & Maria Cribbs (@TheCribbsShow) July 21, 2024
Cribbs gave GM Andrew Berry props for getting this deal done, and he was happy about the fact that Hopkins will be well compensated.
Hopkins will get almost $16 million over three years.
His $5.3 million per year salary makes him the fifth-highest-paid kicker in the league, trailing only Graham Cano, Matt Gay, Jake Elliott, and Justin Tucker.
He drilled two game-winning field goals in back-to-back games in Weeks 10 and 11 – both against divisional rivals – and was successful in 33 of 36 field goal attempts.
He’ll now enter his 10th campaign in the league after stints with the Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers and, hopefully, this will be the last stop in his career.
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