Browns' Dustin Hopkins blocking out the noise of kicking in his 'notorious' new home

BEREA — Kickers know and kickers talk. One of the things they talk about is where they have to ply their trade.

Dustin Hopkins has been in many of those conversations. One place, in particular, has come up often when they talk about the most "notorious" places to kick.

It's the place where Hopkins will now call home: Cleveland Browns Stadium.

"You've got a handful of places in the league that are notorious, and Cleveland's one of them," said Hopkins, who was acquired by the Browns Monday from the Los Angeles Chargers for a 2025 seventh-round pick. "I'd say Buffalo's up there, maybe a Chicago, and I'm sure there's some places I'm missing. … They're on the lake. You're up north. You're in a tough division. There's nothing blocking the wind coming off the lake. It's just sweeping in there."

It's the environment that has swallowed up many a kicker since Phil Dawson, who handled the Browns kicking from their 1999 franchise rebirth until 2012. The most recent was Cade York, who lasted one season and a subsequent preseason before being cut Tuesday after being a fourth-round draft pick in 2022.

The trade for Hopkins was a direct result of York's kicking inaccuracies, which plagued his rookie season. The second-year pro, though, became expendable when those struggles carried into this preseason, including critical misses late in the Browns final two preseason games in Philadelphia and Kansas City.

That led the Browns to pull the cord on keeping around York despite having expended a high mid-round draft pick on him.

"It's really tough," assistant general manager/vice president of player personnel Glenn Cook said Wednesday. "Cade's super competitive. He cares a lot. I'm sure he wanted things to be different. I think everybody's disappointed probably with how it played out, but all of these decisions are tough when you're trying to make these types of calls."

The call came to Hopkins, who spent essentially the last two seasons kicking in almost perfect conditions in Southern California. The veteran kicker spent at least parts of seven years with the Washington Commanders, going 163 of 194 on field goals from 2015 until he was released six games into the 2021 season.

The Chargers picked him up for the final 11 games of that season, then started last season with him. He was 27 of 30 on field goals with Los Angeles.

However, Hopkins was limited to just five games last season because of a hamstring injury. When he returned this year, he found himself in a training camp battle with Cameron Dicker, who replaced him down the stretch last year.

"I had had an honest conversation with Tom (Telesco), the (general manager) for the Chargers, and basically just asked him, 'Did you see me in y'all's future or did y'all see you going with Cam?'" Hopkins said. "And he was honest with me, told me, which was awesome. He just let me know."

What Telesco didn't let Hopkins know about was where the possible destination was going to be. That is, until about an hour before word of the trade leaked out.

Even then, the fact it was Cleveland was a slight stunner to Hopkins, who acknowledged it wasn't a spot to which he had contemplated heading. Now he comes to a place that for the last decade has been a kicker's graveyard, in part because it's a place kickers themselves speak of like old mariners would of a legendary sea monster.

Hopkins, though, isn't allowing those thoughts to creep into his mind, especially before he ever kicks a field goal in the stadium. He did not try a field goal, but was 2 of 3 on point-after kicks, in his lone regular-season appearance in Cleveland while with Washington in 2020.

That first chance will come Thursday, when the Browns hold the final practice of the week at the stadium. They'll have the weekend off after that before coming back to start game-week preparations for the Sept. 10 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I don't read too much into external things just because I don't think it's helpful," Hopkins said. "I try to control what I can control. The location, obviously this is a notorious place to kick. It's a tough place to do this job. At this point in my career, I always tell myself, I try to be focused on the process and not the results.

"Obviously we're in a results-oriented business. I know the results eventually have to be there. But I tell myself I'm process-oriented and the results will come, so kicking in a place like this and knowing that I need to be at my best is kind of an exciting challenge, even though a tough one at the same time."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dustin Hopkins embraces challenge of 'notorious' new home in Cleveland