Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has announced that kicker Dustin Hopkins will resume his starting role after one week on the bench.
This announcement comes as a bit of a surprise after only seeing backup kicker Riley Patterson for one contest against the Kansas City Chiefs. After he was demoted from the starting role, he was almost immediately signed to the Atlanta Falcons’ active roster.
He made his lone extra point attempt in the week 15 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs. The veteran Hopkins was reported to have a solid performance in practice as of late and will hopefully transition this effort onto game day.
Many are confused by the switch to Hopkins after the Browns have now officially benched him for only one week. When the team announced Dorian Thompson-Robinson would be starting in week 16, they sent a message earlier that finding talent for the future is a priority. Benching Patterson for a struggling Dustin Hopkins. Send the complete opposite message to the team in this regard.
Nonetheless, we’ll see if he can return to the former success he had in the previous season.