Cleveland Browns: 5 Questions needing answers at training camp
By Randy Gurzi
5. Who will handle the kicking duties?
In 2018, the Browns saw just how important the kicking game could be. Entering the season with Zane Gonzalez as their kicker, Cleveland felt good about their situation. Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last long at all. Gonzalez struggled mightily in Week 1 and 2. He missed a kick in their first game that could have beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, the Browns ended Week 1 in a tie. He was given the benefit of the doubt since the Steelers got a hand on that 43-yard attempt which would have won the game.
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He lost that benefit in Week 2 as he was 2-of-4 in a 21-18 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Gonzalez was released after the game and a competition was held to find his replacement.
The winner there was Greg Joseph, an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic. Joseph ended up performing well, going 17-of-20 but did miss four extra points. He also caused a lot of panic as he had a knack for sending what looked like a knuckleball through the air when he would attempt a field goal.
General manager John Dorsey must have had the same anxiety fans did from those winding field goals as he used a fifth-round pick — the one he obtained from New England in the Josh Gordon trade — on Oklahoma’s Austin Seibert.
The former Sooner didn’t attempt many field goals last season, going 17-of-19 but he did knock in 87-of-88 extra points. While Seibert has the inside track considering they used a draft pick on him, the Browns will go with whoever they feel the most comfortable with. Training camp and the preseason will be huge for this position as they look to shore up an area of concern from a year ago.