The Cleveland Browns fell to the Washington Commanders 17-15 on Friday night and there was a lot to take away — both good and bad.
As for the good — Deshaun Watson played well and seemed to have command of the offense. He looked more comfortable than he did a year ago and that should be encouraging for all fans.
Unfortunately, the bad included yet another missed kick from Cade York. After going wide on a 49-yard attempt in the Hall of Fame Game, he was again wide right against the Commanders. This time the miss was from 46 yards out.
After the game, head coach Kevin Stefanski said he still has confidence in the kicker, but it's fair to ask if they should look for another option.
Kevin Stefanski said he is not concerned about Cade York despite York missing another field goal try in the 17-15 loss to the Commanders. #Browns pic.twitter.com/Mq8oQDIJY8
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) August 12, 2023
If they did want to try and bring in someone to replace York, here are four veterans that would vastly improve the kicking game.
4. Ryan Succop
A former seventh-round pick in 2009 out of South Carolina, Ryan Succop has kicked well for 14 years in the NFL. He started out with the Kansas City Chiefs and connected on 81 percent of his tries in a five-year period and never missed an extra point — going 160-for-160.
From there, he went to the Tennessee Titans and was good on 83.6 percent of his attempts during his six seasons with them. For the past three years, he was the kicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He made 84.8 percent of his attempts and went 28-of-31 in 2020 when the won the Super Bowl.
Succop has also been good in the postseason, nailing 16-of-17 attempts in 10 career games.
The one question has to be age. At 37, he's coming off a year with seven missed kicked and one missed extra point. Even with that decline, his percentage was superior to York in 2022 making him an option to consider.
3. Tristan Vizcaino
If the Browns felt like bringing in a player who wouldn't cost much and could simply push Cade York, Tristan Vizcaino could be an option.
Already a journeyman in the NFL, the 27-year-old has been with eight franchises since 2019 and has had two stints with three of them. While that might be seen as a negative, it could also be an encouraging sign.
It's true he's never been the full-time kicker for an entire season but he's done well enough to continue to get chances and three teams that once cut him have brought him back.
Most recently, it was the Dallas Cowboys who added him in the 2022 playoffs amidst Brett Maher's struggles. Vizcaino first spent time in Dallas in 2020 prior to this but was a camp leg behind Greg Zuerlein. This time, they wanted him to have a fair shot at the job but he lost out to Brandon Aubrey and was recently let go.
Vizcaino did struggle in training camp for the Cowboys but he's always delivered in the real games when called upon. He's made it to the field for four of the teams he's played for and is 11-of-12 on field goals for his career — although he's never attempted a kick longer than 47 yards.
He also had some issues with extra points in 2021 for the Chargers, missing five of 15 attempts. Since then, however, he's going 6-for-6 with the Cardinals and Patriots.
2. Mason Crosby
Another veteran out there is Mason Crosby, who was a sixth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers back in 2007. The Colorado product spent the past 16 seasons with the Packers but is now on the open market.
While he's 38 years of age, it still feels odd that Crosby has yet to find a new home.
Crosby is coming off a season in which he hit on 25-of-29 field goals and 37-of-39 extra points. For his career, he's connected on 81.4 percent of his attempts and is 97.3 percent on extra point tries.
If that wasn't enough, he's appeared in 23 career playoff games and is 31-of-35 on field goals and a perfect 70-of-70 on extra points.
Having said all that, Crosby was just 1-of-4 last season on kicks over 50 yards. While that might limit Cleveland on the long kicks, they would feel much better with him trotting out for a 45-yarder at this point than they do with York.
Of course, Crosby could also serve as an example for the Browns front office when it comes to defending York. He too struggled early in his career, making less than 80 percent of his tries for the first four seasons of his career and five of the first six. He then caught fire in 2013 and has been one of the best in the game.
1. Robbie Gould
A Penn State product, Robbie Gould is the oldest of the available kickers right now but the 40-year-old is coming off yet another stellar season.
Signed by the Chicago Bears back in 2005, Gould spent 11 years in the Windy City and was sensational for them. He was good on 85.4 percent of his attempts and made 99 percent of his extra points.
He was released ahead of the 2016 season and the fan base was less than thrilled. They went on to struggle in the department for years while Gould continued to thrive.
Gould spent 2016 with the New York Giants but played in just 10 games. He made all 10 field goal attempts and was 20-of-23 on extra points for them. Since that season, he's been with the San Francisco 49ers and continued to produce.
In six years with the Niners, he's connected on 87.5 percent of his kicks and 96.1 percent of his extra points. Even in 2022, he made 27-of-32 attempts and was 2-of-2 from 50-yards out.
Most importantly, he handled the strange weather in Chicago like a champ. With that also being an issue for kickers in Cleveland, his name makes a lot of sense for the Browns to consider.