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Dustin Hopkins

Browns Activate DT Michael Hall, To Make Kicker Switch

December 15th, 2024 at 10:35am CST by Ely Allen

DECEMBER 15: Hopkins is a healthy scratch for the Browns’ matchup with the Chiefs. Cleveland has made its regular kicker — one it extended earlier this year — inactive, going with Patterson, who is now with a fifth team since February.

The Jaguars, Commanders, Jets, Falcons and Browns have employed Patterson since the 2025 league year began. Cleveland had used Patterson as a Hopkins injury replacement late last season, ultimately giving the veteran his job back once he recovered. Hopkins is not injured now, but the Browns are still going with Patterson.

DECEMBER 14: The Browns have announced their gameday transactions which include two activations from injured reserve and two standard gameday elevations. One of those elevations, that of kicker Riley Patterson, seems to insinuate a potential change in the depth chart.

Regular kicker Dustin Hopkins has been having the worst kicking year of his career. On the season, Hopkins has missed nine of his 25 attempts, including a miss from inside 30 yards and five misses from inside 50. Adding to an abysmal 64 percent field goal conversion rate are two missed extra point attempts out of 18 tries. The veteran’s inconsistency has been on display all season, but in Cleveland’s last four games, Hopkins has gone an atrocious two for seven (three for nine in the last five games).

Hopkins signed a three-year, $15.9MM extension to stay in Cleveland after missing only three kicks in 2023, making all eight tries from beyond 50 yards. Earlier this week, following a loss in which Hopkins missed his only two field goal attempts, head coach Kevin Stefanski doubled down on the beleaguered veteran, claiming that Hopkins is their kicker. It’s not clear whether or not Hopkins will open tomorrow’s contest with a bit of a leash or if Patterson’s promotion makes him the primary kicker on Sunday, but the elevation is worth noting, regardless, after Stefanski’s comments.

The two IR activations are both rookies: second-round defensive tackle from Ohio State Mike Hall Jr. and seventh-round South Dakota cornerback Myles Harden. Hall played in four games earlier this year after a delayed start to his rookie season and factored into the defensive line rotation pretty significantly, averaging just over 40 percent of the snap count each game. He’ll return in time to try and get his rookie season back on track.

Harden, on the other hand, was placed on IR shortly after Week 1, a game in which he did not appear, and would be making his NFL debut, should he get on the field. Both players are listed as questionable on the injury report after full practices on Friday.

The other standard gameday elevation joining Patterson off the practice squad tomorrow will be wide receiver and return man James Proche. In five games for the Browns this year, Proche has only three catches for 21 yards but has contributed to the return game with 13 punt returns for 119 yards.

Browns Will Not Replace K Dustin Hopkins

December 9th, 2024 at 8:57am CST by Adam La Rose

Sunday’s loss saw Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins‘ 2024 struggles continue. No thought is being given to finding a replacement at this time, though.

“He’s our kicker,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said after Cleveland’s 27-14 loss to Pittsburgh (via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal). “We expect him to make those. He’s a veteran. He’s a pro. I expect him to work through it. He’s our kicker.”

Hopkins missed field goal attempts of 38 and 45 yards while the Browns were trailing 13-7, continuing his accuracy struggles endured through much of the campaign. The 34-year-old has connected on only 16 of 25 attempts in 2024, including five misses from inside 50 yards. Hopkins’ overall accuracy rate of 64% is by far the lowest of his career and it represents a stark contrast to his success from last season.

The former sixth-rounder missed only three of his 36 field goal tries last year, and he went 8-for-8 beyond 50 yards. That success helped land Hopkins a three-year, $15.9MM extension during the summer, a deal which obviously created high expectations for 2024 and beyond. The Florida State product sits in a tie for eighth in terms of annual average compensation amongst kickers, but like a number of the players ahead of him in that regard he has not enjoyed a strong campaign. Cleveland is 3-10 and Sunday’s loss officially knocked the team out of postseason contention.

Hopkins’ contract includes $2.8MM in guaranteed compensation for 2025, and even a post-June 1 release would not create salary cap savings (although the $3.5MM dead money charge it would generate is not an unrealistic figure to absorb). As a result, it comes as little surprise Stefanski is publicly backing him as the Browns prepare to play out the final weeks of a lost season. If Hopkins manages to rebound down the stretch, he will help his chances of offseason competition not being brought in. Failing that, however, his status could be a talking point during the spring.

Browns, Dustin Hopkins Agree To Extension

July 15th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Ben Levine

The Browns are committing to Dustin Hopkins long-term. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the organization has signed the kicker to a three-year, $15.9MM extension. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that the deal contains $8.36MM in guaranteed money.

The deal keeps Hopkins in Cleveland through the 2027 campaign. The veteran was set to hit free agency following the 2024 season.

The Browns gave up on former fourth-round pick Cade York at the end of the 2023 preseason, acquiring Hopkins from the Chargers for a seventh-round pick. After dealing with injuries for much of the 2022 season, Hopkins rebounded nicely during his first season in Cleveland. He connected on a career-high 91.7 percent of his field goal attempts and made 24 of his 26 XP tries.

However, his season ended early after he suffered a hamstring injury in late December. After not missing a game between 2018 and 2021, Hopkins has dealt with injuries in each of the past two seasons. Zac Jackson of The Athletic opines that the team is taking a bit of a risk extending the veteran ahead of his age-34 campaign, although the team is clearly optimistic that Hopkins can continue his 2023 performance into the twilight years of his career.

Hopkins had a long stint as Washington’s starting kicker, converting 84 percent of his FGA and 94.2 percent of his XPA. He spent a year-plus with the Chargers, where he connected on nine of 10 field goal attempts and all 12 extra point tries.

With his new $5.3MM average annual value, Hopkins jumps into the top-five on the list of the league’s highest-paid kickers. Hopkins is tied with Ka’imi Fairbairn and trails Justin Tucker ($6M), Jake Elliott ($6M), Matt Gay ($5.62M), and Graham Gano ($5.5M).

Browns Place QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson On IR, Sign P.J. Walker

December 26th, 2023 at 12:24pm CST by Adam La Rose

Joe Flacco comfortably sits atop the Browns’ quarterback depth chart, but a new backup will be in place for the foreseeable future. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been placed on injured reserve, the team announced on Tuesday.

The fifth-round rookie is dealing with a hip injury, and it will shut him down for an extended stretch. The move guarantees at least a four-week absence for Thompson-Robinson, meaning he will not be available for the remainder of the regular season. In a corresponding move, P.J. Walker has been signed from the practice squad to the active roster.

The quarterback spot has been in flux for Cleveland, a team which has managed to win games with four different signal-callers. Thompson-Robinson has logged three starts and eight appearances with starter Deshaun Watson finding himself in and out of the lineup before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. The UCLA alum had been in place as Flacco’s backup during his impressive run at the helm, but the QB2 spot will now belong to Walker.

The latter has made a pair of starts in 2023, his first season with the Browns. Walker has made a total of six appearances, the most recent of which came in Week 12. The former XFLer has struggled when on the field, throwing five interceptions and just one touchdown. Those totals cost him an active roster spot to make way for the Flacco-Thompson-Robinson pairing, but he is now in position to close out the season as the team’s backup.

Flacco has been highly impressive since arriving with the Browns last month. As a result, he may be playing his way into a new Cleveland contract this offseason. The former Super Bowl MVP will be counted on through the remainder of the season and into the playoffs, but the latest injury-induced change to the quarterback depth chart will leave the Browns thin under center moving forward.

When speaking to the media on Tuesday, head coach Kevin Stefanski also announced that kicker Dustin Hopkins will miss Cleveland’s Thursday night contest against the Jets. Hopkins exited the Browns’ Week 16 win with a hamstring injury, and the team responded yesterday by signing Riley Patterson. Still in the running for the AFC’s No. 1 seed, the Browns will have a new face at the kicker position while bringing back a familiar one to fill the QB2 role.

Browns Sign K Riley Patterson

December 25th, 2023 at 6:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Cut once again by the Lions, Riley Patterson cleared waivers on Christmas Day. After making more than 88% of his field goal tries this season, the young kicker has another gig.

The Browns added Patterson to their practice squad Monday, doing so after playing much of their Week 16 game without a kicker. Dustin Hopkins sustained a hamstring injury against the Texans, putting his availability for the Browns’ Thursday-night game in jeopardy.

Hopkins, whom the Browns traded for after Cade York struggled during the preseason, has kicked in all 15 Cleveland games this season. Patterson operated as Detroit’s kicker in 13 games this year, but after an ongoing competition against Michael Badgley during practices, the 24-year-old specialist lost his Lions job for the second time. Detroit also waived Patterson just before the 2022 season.

After spending the 2022 season with the Jaguars, Patterson returned to the Lions — via a trade featuring a late-round pick swap — following Jacksonville’s May Brandon McManus addition. Patterson made 15 of 17 field goals and 35 of 37 extra points during his second Lions stint, but Badgley — who closed out last season as Detroit’s kicker — evidently outperformed him in practice. Badgley has kicked in the Lions’ past two games.

Hopkins, 33, re-signed with the Chargers last year but missed 12 games. Cameron Dicker beat him out for the Bolts’ kicking job during training camp this summer. With Cleveland, Hopkins has made 91.7% of his field goals, connecting on an NFL-high 33 attempts. He is 24-for-26 on PATs.

The former Washington- and Los Angeles-based specialist landed on IR due to a midseason hamstring injury last year, making this his latest malady something to monitor for a Browns team closing in on what would be its third playoff berth since rebooting the franchise in 1999. The Browns placing Hopkins on IR would sideline him for the rest of the regular season and two playoff games, depending on how far Cleveland’s season goes. This P-squad move, thanks to Badgley’s quality practice work, gives the Browns some proven insurance.

Chargers To Trade K Dustin Hopkins To Browns; Cade York Waived

August 28th, 2023 at 10:24pm CST by Adam La Rose

One day after kicker Cade York received his least-glowing endorsement yet from the Browns, Cleveland is adding a veteran kicker. Dustin Hopkins has been acquired from the Chargers via trade, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds that Los Angeles will acquire a 2025 seventh-round pick as part of the deal. In a corresponding move, York has been cut, as first reported by the Score’s Jordan Schultz.

[RELATED: Browns Acquire RB Pierre Strong From Patriots]

The news means Cameron Dicker has won the Chargers’ kicking competition, making Hopkins expendable. The latter will now head to Cleveland where he will provide a much more experienced option at the position compared to York. The Browns’ fourth-rounder from one year ago has struggled throughout the preseason, leading to speculation a move of some kind would need to be made.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski had publicly exuded confidence in York for much of this offseason, but the latter declined to confirm he would be the team’s Week 1 kicker yesterday. Now, his fate has been learned as a rough summer will result in him needing to find a fresh start to continue his NFL career, something which will be complicated by the flurry of moves made around the league this week.

York, 22, converted on 75% of his field goal tries and all but two of his extra points during his rookie season. His training camp and preseason performances represented a step back from those figures, though, and the team has decided to move on. Hopkins, by contrast, will have an immediate opportunity to hold down the kicking gig in a new home despite losing the Chargers’ competition.

The 32-year-old spent six-plus years in Washington before surprisingly being released. That led him to the Chargers, with whom he made 16 total appearances across two seasons. Hopkins – who missed time last year while dealing with a hamstring injury – went 27-for-30 on field goals and 42-for-44 on extra points during his time in Los Angeles. If he can duplicate that success in Cleveland, he will represent an upgrade over York, whose future with the Browns or another team will be worth watching.

Chargers Place K Dustin Hopkins On IR

November 22nd, 2022 at 7:53pm CST by Ben Levine

Dustin Hopkins will miss at least four more games. The Chargers announced that they’ve placed the veteran kicker on injured reserve. Practice squad kicker Cameron Dicker has been signed to the active roster to take Hopkins’ place.

Hopkins has been sidelined since Week 6 with a hamstring injury. The Chargers kept him on the active roster for more than a month hoping he’d make a return, but with the team having already used their three PS elevations on Dicker, they needed to open up a roster spot. Hopkins will now be required to miss another four contests, making Week 16 the earliest possible return for the 32-year-old.

Hopkins put up career numbers after joining the Chargers last season, connecting on 90 percent of his field goal tries. He inked a three-year extension with the organization this past offseason. In six games this season, the veteran converted nine of his 1o field goal attempts and all 12 of his extra point tries.

Taylor Bertolet was the original fill-in for Hopkins, but a quadriceps injury forced the team to pivot to Dicker. The rookie has been perfect in his three games for the Chargers, connecting on all seven of his FG attempts and all six of his XP attempts. Dicker also got into a game with the Eagles earlier this year, converting all of his FG/XP tries. He’s made a pair of game-winning field goals this season, resulting in a pair of Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

AFC West Notes: Broncos, Kelce, Chargers

October 18th, 2022 at 8:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Already battling lat and shoulder issues while proceeding through a rocky navigation in Nathaniel Hackett‘s offense, Russell Wilson sustained a hamstring injury Monday night. The injury occurred during a fourth-quarter scramble, Wilson said. The Broncos are calling their quarterback day-to-day. But there is some concern about Wilson’s Week 7 availability, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com adding this may be a “fairly significant” injury (Twitter link).

Wilson has only missed three games in 10-plus seasons; each came because of his finger injury last year. He has experienced a worse-than-expected acclimation process in Hackett’s offense, which has generated more than 20 points just once this season. Playing through multiple injuries likely will not help matters, but given Wilson’s career path, that should be the expectation. Here is the latest from the AFC West:

  • The Chiefs held less than $1MM in cap space at this time last week. They are now close to $4MM. Kansas City got there by restructuring Travis Kelce‘s contract for the second time this year. The move created $3.46MM in space, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Chiefs made the move last week, per CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson, who notes the team did so to have some additional room for practice squad promotions (Twitter link). Kelce remains signed through 2025.
  • Dustin Hopkins became the hero in another low-scoring Broncos primetime game Monday, making four field goals despite hurting his hamstring early in the contest. Brandon Staley said his kicker suffered a hamstring strain and is expected to miss two to four weeks. Taylor Bertolet, the Chargers‘ practice squad kicking option, will step in for the veteran leg. Hopkins, whom the Chargers added after Washington surprisingly cut him during the 2021 season, also missed Week 5 due to a quadriceps injury.
  • Bolts backup running back Joshua Kelley will miss time as well. Staley said Kelley sustained an MCL sprain during Monday’s game. The Chargers have used Kelley as an Austin Ekeler backup since drafting him in the 2020 fourth round. Sony Michel will have the team’s RB2 gig to himself for the time being, as it would not surprise to see Kelley land on IR.
  • The Broncos extended their Week 1 right tackle revolving door to 10 seasons, opening the campaign with Cameron Fleming in that spot. The two players the team signed to vie for the gig — Billy Turner and Tom Compton — began the season injured. Turner has returned and moved into the lineup during Monday’s game, sending Fleming to left tackle and Calvin Anderson (Garett Bolles‘ initial replacement) to the bench. But Compton remains on Denver’s PUP list. The veteran lineman is unlikely to debut for the Broncos until after their Week 9 bye, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. Compton, 33, signed a one-year, $2.25MM deal. He worked as the 49ers’ starting right tackle for much of last season, replacing the injured Mike McGlinchey.
  • Monday’s game also produced yet another Broncos ACL tear. An awkward collision with a media member on the sideline led to backup linebacker Aaron Patrick suffering that severe knee injury. The Broncos announced Patrick’s setback. Tim Patrick, Javonte Williams, Ronald Darby and running back Damarea Crockett have also suffered ACL tears since training camp. Primarily a special-teamer, Aaron Patrick is in his second season with the team. He arrived as a UDFA out of Eastern Kentucky.

Chargers Re-Signing K Dustin Hopkins

March 14th, 2022 at 8:14am CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers were apparently satisfied after Dustin Hopkins‘ mid-year try out last season. The Chargers have agreed to a brand new three-year extension with their kicker, according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (on Twitter).

The deal is worth $9MM overall with incentives that can increase his total compensation to $12MM. Meanwhile, he’s already got upwards of $4.6MM locked in and guaranteed.

Washington released Hopkins six games into the 2021 campaign, leading him to the Bolts. He went on to nail 18-of-20 field goal tries in Los Angeles and 3o out of 32 XP attempts. It’s worth noting that his only two missed FGs came from 50+ yards away. Between the Commanders and the Chargers, Hopkins went 30-of-34 last year.

The Chargers have had something of a revolving door at the position over the last five years. Now, they hope to have some stability with Hopkins, who will look to improve on his career 84.6% rate.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/1/22

January 1st, 2022 at 4:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the New Year’s Day activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Oli Udoh

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Bryce Hall

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

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