Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski Hopeful About Reunion With Cade York

At the NFL's annual owner's meetings, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski discussed the team's decision to bring back Cade York after releasing him prior to the 2023 season.

In a surprising move over the weekend, the Browns agreed to terms on a futures contract to bring young kicker Cade York back to Cleveland. At the very least he factors into the team's plans during the upcoming offseason program and training camp later this summer, but as things stand right now he is not expected to be in competition with kicker Dustin Hopkins.

When York first arrived in Cleveland as a fourth-round pick in 2022, it was met with much debate over whether or not spending a draft pick on a kicker is a smart move. After York went on to go four-for-four on field goals in his first career game, including a 58-yard, game-winning kick to put away the Panthers, it seemed worth it at first. Things quickly unraveled from there though, as York went on to make just 75-percent of his field goals during his rookie season.

Once he followed up the inconsistent campaign with an equally inconsistent preseason last August, general manager Andrew Berry had no choice but to own his error and move on from the LSU product, trading for Hopkins in the process.

Faced with the opportunity to give York a second chance less than a year later, Berry and the Browns jumped. At the NFL's annual owner's meetings in Orlando, Fla. this week, head coach Kevin Stefanski offered some perspective as to why Cleveland is bringing back the 23-year-old.

“Excited about him," said Stefanski. "It didn’t work out, but you never know how this business works. So the ability to bring Cade back into the fold I think is great for him, for us. So excited about it.”

There are numerous examples of kickers getting off to shaky starts in the NFL but turning it around to have longer, successful careers. Browns legend Phil Dawson – who some though York would finally replace – is one of them. In his first year in the league Dawson made just 66-percent of his field goals.

Along with the fact that Berry has a tendency to hold onto his draft selections as long as possible to give them time to develop, it's understandable why he'd be willing to show some patience with York. With York back in the fold, every member of the Browns 2022 draft class is currently under contract with the franchise, with the exception of DT Perrion Winfrey, who was released prior to training camp last summer after he was caught on video committing an apparent robbery.

After being released by the Browns last summer, York was quickly added to the Titans practice squad days later. He then was signed to the Giants roster in November, was eventually waived and added to their practice squad but finished the season on the IR after suffering a quad injury.