Who Should I Start? Dustin Hopkins or Harrison Butker

Tuesday, August 26, 3:18 PM

The Cleveland Brown released kicker Dustin Hopkin on Tuesday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. It appears that Andre Szmyt will open the 2025 regular season as the team's placekicker, although the Browns could still bring in more competition before Week 1. Hopkins will be let go after spending the last two seasons kicking for Cleveland, where he went 51-for-63 on his field-goal attempts (81%) and 41-for-46 on his extra-point tries in 31 total games. The final straw for the 34-year-old veteran might have been when he missed one of his two extra-point tries in the preseason finale on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams. Hopkins entered training camp on shaky ground at the position after going 18-for-27 on his field goals in 16 games a year ago.

Saturday, September 13, 5:14 AM

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Week 2. This Super Bowl rematch could prove beneficial for Butker's fantasy relevance because of the strong Eagles defense. If the Kansas City offense is unable to complete drives, Butker could be asked to pick up the points with his leg. The veteran kicker knocked through all three of his field goal attempts in their Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but ultimately missed the extra point attempt following a rushing touchdown from Patrick Mahomes in the third quarter. Butker has been one of the most consistent kickers in the league since his debut, and he will hope to continue the trend in Week 2. Butker is ranked K13 in our RotoBaller rankings this week, making him a fringe starter in a 12-team league.