Cleveland, OH
Kevin Stefanski declines to commit to Cade York as his kicker for the opener vs. Bengals
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Kevin Stefanski had a chance to commit to Cade York as his Week 1 kicker vs. the Bengals, and he punted.
Asked specifically on Sunday if York will kick in the opener Sept. 10, he declined to say yes.
“All of those type of things, as you know, we always keep those internal as we get through this week,” Stefanski said. “But I’ll reiterate, I think Cade is very, very, very talented.”
Stefanski was asked if he owes it to his other players to bring in competition for York, who had the potential gamewinning 43-yard field goal attempt blocked by with the Chiefs with 54 seconds left. The Browns lost 33-32 to close out the preseason 1-2-1.
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It marked the second straight game that York failed to make the possible gamewinning kick, including the 18-18 tie with the Eagles on Aug. 17. In that game, he pushed a 47-yard attempt wide right after the two-minute warning, and also missed the 41-yard re-do after the Eagles were flagged for illegal formation.
“All roster decisions and those types of things are things that we talk about internally, really at every position,” Stefanski said. “So that’s where I’d leave it.”
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Stefanski also left the door open after the game to the possibility of the Browns exploring their options, marking the first time he or GM Andrew Berry did anything other than express utmost confidence in York amid his shakiest of preseasons.
He closed out his four preseason games by going 4 of 8 on field goals and 8 of 8 on extra points. But he had the one missed field goal attempt nullified by a penalty and the missed extra point.
On the block, he hit it low, which enabled defensive tackle Phil Hoskins to get a hand on it.
“Obviously didn’t hit it like we wanted to and that’s something, I know we want to be able to finish there as a team, so it was disappointing,” Stefanski said. “But it doesn’t change kind of our mentality that each one of our players is going to continue to work at this thing and get better.”
He stressed there were ‘no lingering effects’ from the shin injury York suffered when the defender ran into his leg after the PAT miss.
The bizarre thing is that York has been money in camp, making 99% of his kicks, including 6 for 6 two days before the Chiefs game.
“Cade is very talented, and you’re right, we’ve seen it in practice,” Stefanski said. “Definitely, I’ve seen it at times in games. He wants to come through for the team. I know he’s disappointed in that preseason, but a young player, he’s going to continue to work. That’s really what it is.”
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Question is, do the Browns have time for him to kick his way out of his slump, which almost starting to seem like a stage fright issue?
They have three AFC North games in their first four weeks, and have no time for a slumping kicker. They’ve patiently watched him try to work through it, but it’s reached the point where they have to consider their options. There aren’t many great unemployed kickers sitting around, but there are a few good ones such as longtime veteran Robbie Gould.
With rosters cuts from 90 to 53 due by 4 p.m. Tuesday, some options might become available then.
In the meantime, Stefanski didn’t have a problem with York getting testy with a reporter during his postgame interview in the locker room.
“Oh my gosh, c’mon, that’s like six questions,” York said. “Of course I freaking wanted to put it through. That’s enough, dude.”
Stefanski felt his pain.
“It’s certainly normal to be frustrated by your performance when you don’t come through like he wants to,” he said. “He works very hard, wants to come through. So of course he’s going to be frustrated. I’ve been in that situation when you have to answer some questions when you’re frustrated, so we have to be pros in that situation. But these are human beings, so we do sometimes let frustrations get the better of us.”
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