Three games, 3 missed field goals for Cade York (4, if we’re counting one that was negated by a penalty). How much longer before the Browns start thinking about plugging in a new kicker?
Kevin Stefanski says that’s not happening yet. He says the Browns have no plans to bring in a second kicker to compete for the job. “Cade’s our kicker,” Stefanski says. “We support him. We have a ton of confidence in him. That’s really as simple as that.”
The Browns drafted York in the fourth round a year ago, thinking he’d be a difference maker. They’re in a division with three other big-time kickers – Justin Tucker, Chris Boswell and Evan McPherson. But it hasn’t happened yet. York has a cannon leg but made only 24 of 32 field goals, with 4 misses that helped swing three games they lost.
So far this year, York has picked up where he left off, missing a field goal in each of Cleveland’s three preseason games. In last night’s 18-18 tie against Philadelphia, York made three field goals but then missed on two attempts that would have won the game in the final two minutes – a 46-yarder that was erased by a penalty, and a 41-yarder.
The 49ers, by the way, are in this same boat, with rookie Jake Moody struggling so far.
In general, I tend to favor being patient with kickers. If you believe in them, then let them work their way through their early-career struggles. The Vikings, after all, famously quit on Daniel Carlson after a few games, and he’s become about the best kicker in the game.
Casting a wider net, I see 27 other kickers in this century who’ve made fewer than 80 percent of their field goals in their rookie seasons (with at least 20 attempts). Only seven of those kickers ended their careers at under 80 percent. Of that group, almost half (12) went only to make at least 200 field goals.
In the chart below, the players tagged with black dots are the ones who never got things figured out. The players in bold all stuck around for the long haul. Players are ordered by field goal accuracy as rookies (worst listed first). The next column shows their accuracy for the remainder of their career.
I believe the play for the Browns here is to remain patient. (York made 33 of 39 field goals his final two seasons at LSU.)
| ROOKIES UNDER 80% ON FIELD GOALS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rookie | Pct | Career | Pct |
| • Jake Arians | 12-21 | 57.1% | 0-0 | -- |
| Neil Rackers | 12-21 | 57.1% | 252-309 | 81.6% |
| • Seth Marler | 20-33 | 60.6% | 0-0 | -- |
| Sebastian Janikowski | 22-32 | 68.8% | 414-510 | 81.2% |
| • Roberto Aguayo | 22-31 | 71.0% | 0-0 | -- |
| Aldrick Rosas | 18-25 | 72.0% | 54-66 | 81.8% |
| • Aaron Elling | 18-25 | 72.0% | 1-3 | 33.3% |
| Josh Brown | 22-30 | 73.3% | 297-350 | 84.9% |
| Lawrence Tynes | 17-23 | 73.9% | 173-210 | 82.4% |
| Greg Zuerlein | 23-31 | 74.2% | 271-327 | 82.9% |
| Randy Bullock | 26-35 | 74.3% | 185-218 | 84.9% |
| CADE YORK | 24-32 | 75.0% | ? | ? |
| Zane Gonzalez | 15-20 | 75.0% | 76-93 | 81.7% |
| • Tim Seder | 25-33 | 75.8% | 19-29 | 65.5% |
| Giorgio Tavecchio | 16-21 | 76.2% | 5-5 | 100.0% |
| Caleb Sturgis | 26-34 | 76.5% | 94-116 | 81.0% |
| Stephen Gostkowski | 20-26 | 76.9% | 372-428 | 86.9% |
| Matt Gay | 27-35 | 77.1% | 74-80 | 92.5% |
| Josh Scobee | 24-31 | 77.4% | 217-270 | 80.4% |
| Robbie Gould | 21-27 | 77.8% | 426-490 | 86.9% |
| • Paul Edinger | 21-27 | 77.8% | 114-153 | 74.5% |
| Joey Slye | 25-32 | 78.1% | 77-91 | 84.6% |
| • Chase McLaughlin | 18-23 | 78.3% | 49-62 | 79.0% |
| Jay Feely | 29-37 | 78.4% | 303-365 | 83.0% |
| Mike Nugent | 22-28 | 78.6% | 243-299 | 81.3% |
| Rob Bironas | 23-29 | 79.3% | 216-250 | 86.4% |
| Mason Crosby | 31-39 | 79.5% | 364-446 | 81.6% |
—Ian Allan