Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters chose not to wait until next week’s final cuts to find a kicker. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported Thursday morning that Washington was sending a conditional seventh-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for kicker Cade York.
York, 23, was a fourth-round pick out of LSU by Cleveland in the 2022 NFL draft. During his time at LSU, York was the true freshman kicker for the Tigers’ undefeated national championship team in 2019 and would make 82% of his field goals in college.
As a rookie in 2022, York made 24 of 32 field goal attempts, including a long of 58 yards. He made 35 of 37 extra-point attempts. In the 2023 preseason, York struggled, and the Browns traded for former Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins. Cleveland waived York during final cuts, and he signed with the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad.
Source: The Browns are trading K Cade York to the Commanders for a conditional seventh-rounder. So an early deal as trade market heats up with cutdown looming.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 22, 2024
In November, the New York Giants signed York to their active roster. After three weeks, he was waived and re-signed to the practice squad. In December, York suffered a quad injury in practice and was placed on injured reserve. The Giants did not re-sign York after the season.
In March, the Browns brought York back, and he competed with Hopkins throughout the offseason and training camp. However, Cleveland signed Hopkins to a three-year extension just before training camp.
York is Washington’s third kicker since Brandon McManus was in June after sexual assault allegations. First, it was Ramiz Ahmed, who signed in June and was released after the first preseason game. The Commanders claimed Riley Patterson off waivers on July 31, but he struggled throughout camp and missed three of his five field goal attempts in the first two preseason games.
Washington released Patterson after trading for York but has not officially announced the trade.