Browns Digest

Analyst Urging Browns to Make Immediate Roster Cut

An analyst is urging the Cleveland Browns to make an immediate roster cut.

Evan Massey

Nov 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the Cleveland Browns helmets on a time out against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome.
Nov 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the Cleveland Browns helmets on a time out against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
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The Cleveland Browns are fresh off of yet another loss. This time, they fell in Week 14 to the Pittsburgh Steelers by a final score of 27-14.

With the loss, the Browns dropped to 3-10 on the season. At this point in time, they appear to be headed for a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, which would not be the worst thing in the world.

Following the loss to the division rival Steelers, Cleveland is being urged to make an immediate roster cut.

Dustin Fox of "The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show," has pressed the Browns to go ahead and cut kicker Dustin Hopkins. The kicker was recently signed to a three-year, $15.9 million contract extension.

"Dustin Hopkins should be cut," Fox said.

In 13 games this season, Hopkins has played very poorly. Should the team cut him, it would be for very good reason.

To this point in the year, Hopkins has only made 16 of his 25 field goal attempts. That equates to making just 64 percent of his attempts. He has also missed two extra point attempts on the season.

Clearly, those numbers aren't going to get the job done. Hopkins has been given ample time to turn things around and they just keep getting worse.

Against Pittsburgh, Hopkins missed both of his field goal opportunities. His first miss was from 38 yards where he missed wide left. On their next drive, he missed again, this time wide right on a 43-yard attempt.

The rising frustration with Hopkins is understandable. Hopkins is a veteran kicker who is missing kicks that should be made. It's not like he was missing from 50 or more yards.

All of that being said, Cleveland has made no moves with Hopkins so far today. It doesn't seem likely that they will cut him before Week 15.

However, if Hopkins can't get things figured out in the next week or two, the Browns should absolutely make a move.

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Evan Massey
EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.

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