Who Should I Start? Dustin Hopkins or Riley Patterson

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, October 4, 11:18 AM

Miami Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson was signed to the active roster before Week 4's win over the Jets and will continue to fill in for as long as Jason Sanders (hip) remains sidelined. Patterson has connected on all four of his field goal attempts and all nine of his extra points this season. He hasn't attempted anything from beyond 50 yards, and the Dolphins' offense has struggled, which has limited his opportunities. He is in a favorable environment and matchup this week, though, so he's a workable bye week fill-in if you need him. He's the No. 18 K in RotoBaller's rankings, so he works as an option in deep leagues if you're desperate.