In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, whether his kicks are left right or down the middle, Cade York remains the one and only kicker on the Browns’ roster.
Coach Kevin Stefanski held his normal follow-up Zoom conference Aug. 18 after the Browns and Eagles dueled to an 18-18 tie. Stefanski made it clear his support for York, the second-year kicker from LSU, hasn’t changed. York kicked two field goals in the first half plus an extra point and a field goal in the second half.
The four successful kicks had to make Stefanski feel vindicated for backing York after the 2022 fourth-round pick was wide right from 49 yards in the Hall of Fame game and wide right from 46 yards in the game with the Commanders on Aug. 11.
But then, with the Browns and Eagles knotted at 18 and two minutes to play, York was wide right from 47 yards. He got a rare do-over because the Eagles were penalized five yards for an illegal formation, but the reprieve did him no good. He was wide left from 41 yards.
“With any young player — certainly you’ve seen it with kickers — you do go through a tough period here or there,” Stefanski said on the Zoom call. “I have a ton of confidence in Cade because I’ve seen him do it in practice, I’ve seen him do it in games. So he’ll continue to work.
“But I really feel it’s no different than any other player that they have to work on their craft, and now is the time to do that. Obviously, Cade wants to make every kick. We want him to make every kick. It’s an occupational hazard that you’re going to miss one. It’s just how you deal with it and how you bounce back from it.”
Showing the team remains confident in York is one thing, but to not have another kicker in training camp seems to run contrary to the coaching axiom “competition brings out the best in players.”
York was the only kicker on the team during OTAs in May and the June minicamp. He has been the only kicker in an orange helmet since training camp began July 22. There are no plans to sign another kicker before the final preseason game Aug. 26 in Kansas City.
“Yeah, that’s just our decision,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, Cade’s our kicker. We support him. We have a ton of confidence in him. That’s really as simple as that.”
There are examples of teams giving up on young kickers only to see them go on to kick for years for another team. Twice the Browns were beneficiaries of those hasty decisions.
Matt Stover was a 12th-round draft pick by the Giants in 1990. He spent the entire season on injured reserve. The Giants waived him. The Browns signed him in 1991. He kicked for them through 1995 and then continued kicking for the Ravens when the former Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996. He kicked for the Ravens through 2008.
Phil Dawson signed with the Raiders as an undrafted rookie in 1998. The Patriots signed him to their practice squad after the Raiders waived him. He never played for New England. The expansion Browns signed Dawson in 1999. He kicked for Cleveland through 2012. He is second on the Browns’ all-time scoring list with 1,271 points. Lou Groza holds the record with 1,349 points.
Daniel Carlson is a more recent example. The Vikings selected Carlson in the fifth round of the 2018 draft. He made his only field goal attempt in the season opener, but in the second game, against rival Green Bay, he missed one field goal try in regulation and two in overtime in a game that ended in a 29-29 tie. Carlson’s 35-yard attempt on the final play of overtime was wide right.
The Vikings cut Carlson a day later. The Raiders signed Carlson five weeks after Minnesota abandoned him. Carlson has connected on 89.9% (142/158) of his field-goal tries with the Raiders.
Stefanski cleared up something else concerning his kicker.
The Browns on Instagram posted a picture of York lining up a field goal in the first half with the caption “+3 from No. 3.” The picture was reposted on York’s Instagram account at halftime, making it appear as though York posted it himself. Not a good look, especially with how the game ended.
“I’m aware of that,” Stefanski said on the Zoom call. “That was not Cade who posted that. I’ll talk to him about that, and all of our players. We know the rules. They’re not allowed to be — none of us — players, coaches — we’re not allowed to be on our phones once kickoff hits. So we’ll address that with the guys.”
The post was deleted Aug. 18.
