Cleveland Browns: The starting kicker job remains up for grabs
Cleveland Browns fans are focusing on several position battles, and must add the competition at kicker to the list of what to watch for in training camp.
The kicker position was something Cleveland Browns fans never had to worry about since the team returned in 1999. But that all changed once Phil Dawson left following the 2012 season.
Since then, the team has shuffled several players in and out in an attempt to find something near the levels of consistency displayed by Dawson.
That process continues in 2017, as two players are currently vying for that starting job.
Cody Parkey and Zane Gonzalez will be going at it in training camp and throughout the preseason, and there remains no clear favorite as of right now.
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Fans may remember Parkey for joining the team last year and missing three field goals, including a potential game-winner, in his Week 3 debut, but he finished the year going 20-25. There were some difficult circumstances surrounding his Browns debut, but that game still lingers in the minds of some fans.
Then there is Gonzalez, who was drafted by the Browns in the seventh round of this year’s NFL Draft. He is last year’s Lou Groza Award winner and holds the FBS record for made field goals in a career.
But just because he was drafted shouldn’t mean much, as all that matters now is how he performs with the Browns. There is no room for error as a professional kicker, as others are always waiting to take that starting job.
The fact Gonzalez was taken in the seventh round also lessens the commitment the Browns have to keeping him if he doesn’t do well, as opposed to when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent a second-round pick on Roberto Aguayo last year. He got the yips and had some key misses throughout the year, but the investment was so high the team was forced to hold onto him and hope he turns it around.
That situation doesn’t apply for Gonzalez here in Cleveland, so fans can prepare for an open competition between him and Parkey. It is not the most exciting position battle to follow, but fans know just how important a kicker can be.
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Let’s hope the Browns choose the right man for the job.