Today the Cleveland Browns traded a 2025 7th-round pick to the Chargers for kicker Dustin Hopkins. Hopkins was the Chargers Kicker for most of 2021 and some of 2022 was solid until he got injured last year and was replaced by K Cameron Dicker. Hopkins is healthy now. So why did Chargers trade him?
The Chargers traded Dustin Hopkins because Cameron Dicker had won the kicking competition and made Hopkins expendable. Dicker, a rookie out of Texas, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He had a strong college career, making 84.6% of his field goal attempts and 100% of his extra point attempts.
Hopkins was a solid kicker for the Chargers, but he had some inconsistencies. He made 80.5% of his field goal attempts in 2022, but he also missed two field goals in the final two minutes of games. The Chargers decided to go with the younger and more consistent Dicker.
The trade also gave the Chargers a seventh-round pick in 2025. This is a small price to pay for getting rid of a kicker who was not guaranteed to be on the roster for the 2023 season.
In addition, the Browns were looking for a more experienced kicker after cutting Cade York. York was a rookie who struggled in training camp and the preseason. The Browns are hoping that Hopkins can provide some stability at the position.
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