3 potential roster cuts the Cleveland Browns should target

3. Nick Folk, K, New England Patriots

The Cade York experience has not been a fun one.

A fourth-round pick out of LSU, York came in with a lot of praise and some high expectations. He started out on fire as well, nailing a 58-yard game-winner in Week 1 of his rookie campaign against Baker Mayfield and the Carolina Panthers. But after that, the issues began.

York wound up missing eight field goals and two extra points while converting on just 75 percent of his kicks. Throughout the offseason, the talk surrounding York has been about how to fix his mechanics and get him firing with more accuracy. In practice, it appears to be working as he hardly misses. But then in games, he's unreliable, and even when he makes them, some of his kicks are too close for comfort.

It's hard to give up on a fourth-round pick after one season but the Browns might not have a choice. They can't allow games to be lost due to missed kicks but fortunately, there's a player likely about to become available they can add — Nick Folk.

A longtime NFL veteran, Folk has been outplaying Chad Ryland with the New England Patriots but Ryland was also a fourth-round pick. That means he's likely to keep the job and Folk could be available.

If so, the Browns should pounce at the opportunity to bring him in.

A 15-year vet, Folk has been in the league since 2007 and kicked for four different teams. He's made 82.9 percent of his field goals while hitting 92.9 percent in 2020, 92.3 percent in 2023, and 86.5 percent last year. He's also connected on 96.8 percent of his extra points — although he has missed 10 of those in three seasons with the Pats.

Still, it would be worth missing a couple of extra points to have a kicker who is solid from 40-plus and automatic on field goals inside of that range (58-of-58 the past three years from 20-39 yards).

As a side note, the Browns could do this and still retain York on the practice squad. It unlikely he takes a roster spot from any other team, so they could continue to work with him while turning to a veteran for at least 2023.