Could Browns Have No Kicker On Initial 53?

The day after he missed two opportunities to win the team's preseason game against the Eagles, the Cleveland Browns are faced with a very difficult decision about second year kicker Cade York. The topic has generated quite the buzz on social media and the Cleveland air-waves, with many fans and pundits calling for his outright release.

To this point, I have agreed with how General Manager Andrew Berry and Head Coach Kevin Stefanski have handled the situation. Even after last night and today, when Stefanski has backed York, by reiterating that Cade is the team's kicker. I am however, beginning to get anxious with the season opener just three weeks away.

I have currently begun working on my one and only initial 53-man roster projection that I will be posting within the next day or so. Talk about an exercise of deep thinking, there are some real surprise players confounded by players that we just haven't even seen on the field yet.

Trying to trim down those last four or five spots is near impossible. Complicating things even further are guys like Alex Wright, and Isaiah Thomas who are currently taking up roster spots while we aren't sure when they will be back. Placing an injury designation on these players now would have negative consequences on their availability for the regular season.

Berry will most certainly have to play some roster gymnastics to keep the guys he wants longterm. One possibility that I have thought about some today, is the idea of having zero kickers on the initial 53-man roster.

I am still not advocating for cutting York at this point. I think they should give him an opportunity to kick in the final preseason game against Kansas City to evaluate it. If, however, he misses any additional kicks, I really can't see how you can head into the biggest four-game stretch of Stefanski's career with that kind of liability.

A new kicker would need to be signed but in my proposed scenario the Browns would cut York on cutdown day across the league, leaving them with no kickers on the active roster. They could then use that spot to keep a guy like Isaiah Thomas, who they would probably need to cut otherwise. Once Thomas is on the initial 53-man roster he could then be placed on Injured Reserve, requiring him to only miss four games.

That roster spot would then become available again to sign the kicker that you feel best about after working out several late in the week. That kicker would then still have a week to go before the season opener against Cincinnati.

They could also attempt to sign York back to the practice squad if he were to clear waivers and try to allow him to work through his issues. This is unlikely in my opinion as he would have likely suitors also willing to sign him to their practice squad and York may want a fresh start with a new team and fanbase.

If all of this seems a little far-fetched, look no further to the Dallas Cowboys last year when they released kicker Brett Maher at final cutdown. They even wanted to keep him but were willing to risk losing him so they could use the roster spot. They eventually signed him back that week. A move like this can pay dividends late in the year to provide depth in case of injury to a starter.

While I'm not advocating for all of this to play out, I wouldn't rule it out and after giving it some thought, a valid argument could be made in favor of the idea if York doesn't figure it out quickly. Unfortunately, for him the time is now or never.