Browns kicker could potentially miss Week 3 matchup against Packers

Cleveland Browns rookie kicker Andre Szmyt has had a difficult start to his NFL career and a recent injury could put his availability in jeopardy.

Andre Szmyt, Cleveland Browns | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns cannot catch a break.

The kicker position has seemingly been an issue in Cleveland since the legendary Phil Dawson left the city and marched away on his next journey in life. Ever since that point, Cleveland has gone through kickers left and right.

On Friday, it was announced that kicker Andre Szmyt suffered a calf strain and is now questionable for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers.

The injury is to his non-kicking leg.

The news came from head coach Kevin Stefanski who said Szmyt "felt something" in his left calf and will get an MRI to examine the severity of the injury.

Currently, the Browns do not have a kicker on their practice squad and will be forced to sign someone if Szmyt is not ready to play against the Packers. Unless a "Justin Reid-type" emergency kicker comes out of the shadows for Cleveland.

In the offseason heading into the current campaign, the team was between two: Dustin Hopkins and Szmyt.

Hopkins had far too many highs and lows in his time in Cleveland. In his first season with the Browns, it looked like the team had found its future boot as he knocked down 91% of his field goal attempts on a 33-for-36 clip. On PATs, he went 24-of-26.

However, that excitement dwindled away fast as he would take a sharp decline in 2024.

Last season, the now 34 year-old went 18-for-27 making his field goal percentage a measly 66.7%. On PAT's he missed one more than the previous year, going 17-for-20. Across his 10-year career, both were career lows.

While it is not an easy task to kick in Cleveland, it was clear to the front office they needed to bring in a new face to challenge Hopkins. That guy would be Szmyt.

The 26-year-old out of Syracuse University played for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL last season. He took a break from football from 2022 to 2024. However, with the Battlehawks, he made 90.5% of his field goals, with his only two misses coming from 40+ yards out.

He was able to make 8-of-10 kicks from beyond 40 yards out in total.

With a high upside, it was understandable that Cleveland would be able to take a risk on the inexperienced kicker, especially with 2025 success being a major question mark.

In his first game with the Browns, he ended up missing a PAT and a field goal as they would lose by one point to the Cincinnati Bengals, 17-16. While his misses didn't directly cause the loss, had he made them, Cleveland could have potentially pulled off a win. In his second game of the year, he made one field goal and both of his extra point attempts.

With struggles already in Week 1 and now an injury, Szmyt's time in Cleveland may be running short.