In what came as a somewhat surprising announcement on Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns signed kicker Dustin Hopkins to a contract extension. The two sides have agreed to terms on a three-year $15.9 million deal, making him one of the league’s highest-paid kickers. There has been plenty of praise and fanfare regarding this extension, and it is puzzling to think about all things considered.
First off, kickers can be one of the most volatile positions in football. A kicker can go from lights out to being unable to hit the broad side of a barn in an instant. The Browns deciding that the soon-to-be 34-year-old Hopkins is worthy of anything more than a year-to-year deal is baffling. Sure, 2023 was one of, if not the best season of Hopkins’ career up to this point, but that does not mean they should have been seeking a long-term commitment here. There is a very good chance that Hopkins will experience regression as soon as this upcoming season. If this were to happen, Hopkins’ extension would just be added to the list of recent regrettable moves made by this franchise.
The timing of this new deal for Hopkins is not great either. Cleveland still finds themselves in a stalemate with Amari Cooper regarding his current contract. Not prioritizing Cooper before their kicker, or Jerry Jeudy for that matter, is organizational malpractice. There is not one reasonable argument for paying Hopkins before Cooper.
Even though it is not a large contract, the issue is not about the financial commitment to Hopkins. The issue is the Browns are not taking care of one of their few offensive weapons when the situation dictates they should be. Do not blame Cooper if the relationship between the two sides goes south, this is all on Cleveland’s decision-makers.
