Veteran kicker lands three-year extension with Browns

The Browns are committing to Dustin Hopkins long-term. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the organization has signed the kicker to a three-year, $15.9M extension. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that the deal contains $8.36M in guaranteed money.

The deal keeps Hopkins in Cleveland through the 2027 campaign. The veteran was set to hit free agency following the 2024 season.

The Browns gave up on former fourth-round pick Cade York at the end of the 2023 preseason, acquiring Hopkins from the Chargers for a seventh-round pick. After dealing with injuries for much of the 2022 season, Hopkins rebounded nicely during his first season in Cleveland. He connected on a career-high 91.7 percent of his field-goal attempts and made 24 of his 26 XP tries.

However, his season ended early after he suffered a hamstring injury in late December. After not missing a game between 2018 and 2021, Hopkins has dealt with injuries in each of the past two seasons. Zac Jackson of The Athletic opines that the team is taking a bit of a risk extending the veteran ahead of his age-34 campaign, although the team is clearly optimistic that Hopkins can continue his 2023 performance into the twilight years of his career.

Hopkins had a long stint as Washington’s starting kicker, converting 84 percent of his FGA and 94.2 percent of his XPA. He spent a year-plus with the Chargers, where he connected on 9 of 10 field-goal attempts and all 12 extra-point tries.

With his new $5.3M average annual value, Hopkins jumps into the top-five on the list of the league’s highest-paid kickers. Hopkins is tied with Ka’imi Fairbairn and trails Justin Tucker ($6M), Jake Elliott ($6M), Matt Gay ($5.62M), and Graham Gano ($5.5M).