Is Andre Szmyt a good kicker?
Since Phil Dawson hung up the spikes, the Browns have struggled through a seemingly endless run of placekickers. Even when the club thinks they have found the kicker of the future — such as Dustin Hopkins in 2023 — we have seen how quickly one’s star could fade. The Browns cut Hopkins before this season began, and he did not put toe to leather anywhere in the NFL all season. The better question might be “Has Szmyt done enough to be the presumed Browns starter next season?” Let’s see what the stats say.
Let’s begin with the raw numbers. In seventeen games, Szmyt successfully kicked 24 of 27 field goals (88.9%) with a long of 55 yards. Here’s how it breaks down by distance:
20-29 yards: 4 for 4
30-39 yards: 10 for 11
40-49 yards: 5 for 6
50+ yards: 5 for 6
He ranks 24th in the league for both field goals made and field goals attempted. That may be attributed to a couple of factors, including Kevin Stefanski’s penchant for going for it on fourth down when in field goal range as well as the offense’s general ineptitude. You can’t line up for three if you never cross the fifty-yard line.
Szmyt successfully kicked 25 of 26 extra points (96.2%), which ranks 27th in terms of extra points made but considering how few touchdowns the Browns scored, this ranking cannot be held against him. Amazingly, ten NFL kickers went the entire season without missing an extra point, led by Seattle’s Jason Myers, who is an impeccable 48 for 48. What can we learn from those misses?
Week 1: After Cleveland took the lead with 7:24 left in the third quarter, Szmyt missed an extra point that would have given the Browns a three-point edge. This felt very relevant a little later when the Bengals took a 17-16 lead. Szmyt got a chance for redemption when he lined up for a 36-yard field goal with 2:26 left and a chance to position the Browns for a 1-0 start. No good. Cleveland left four points on the field and lost by one.
Week 4: The Browns were largely overmatched in a contest against the Lions in Detroit. Trailing, 20-10 in the third quarter, Szmyt failed to convert a 56-yard field goal that would have reduced it to a one-score game. Even indoors, that is a lengthy kick, but it would have made no difference in the final margin of a 24-point defeat.
Week 8: Ah, the Dillon Gabriel Era. What fond memories. Szmyt only had one chance at a field goal in this game. He whiffed on a 47-yarder in the second quarter when the Browns were leading 7-3. Things fell apart in the second half, and the Browns fell to the Patriots 32-13.
Szmyt had made 14 straight field goals since his last miss and has not missed an extra point since the ill-timed one in the season opener. Kickers may seem to be a dime a dozen, but that is a decent run of success in the NFL. It’s also worth considering how he compares to former Browns kickers now booting elsewhere:
Chase McLaughlin: 32 of 38 (84.2%) FG, 32 of 33 XP
Zane Gonzalez: 19 of 22 (86.4%) FG, 17 of 18 XP
Dustin Hopkins: Did not play in 2025
Cade York: Saints practice squad in 2025
Austin Seibert: Did not play in 2025
Greg Joseph: Did not play in 2025
Szmyt had a better field goal percentage than both McLaughlin and Gonzalez this season, with comparable numbers on extra points. But is he clutch?
The Browns were largely outclassed in their 2025 games, meaning they had few close margins to sweat. In Week 3’s win over the Packers, Szmyt contributed seven of the team’s thirteen fourth-quarter points, including a booming 55-yarder at the final horn that gave Cleveland an improbable 13-10 triumph.
In games that finish with a 7-point margin or fewer (the Browns went 3-6 in close contests) Szmyt hit on 14-of-15 extra points and 16-of-17 on field goals with both misses coming in Week 1 against the Bengals. Speaking of Cincinnati, the best argument for Szmyt may have come in Week 18 in the Queen City. Szmyt got no help from his defensive teammates who both earned 15-yard penalties on their respective touchdowns. No matter, he connected on those extra-long extra points. He nailed a 27-yarder in the third quarter, and with it all on the line on the game’s final play he booted a 49-yard field goal to give the Browns a 20-18 win on the road, making them undefeated in 2026.
Szmyt signed a one-year deal worth $840,000 for 2025. That’s a relative bargain for kickers and GM Andrew Berry would be wise to see if he is interested in a multi-year deal to offer some stability. Szmyt will turn 28 in September and while kickers do tend to come and go, if he were to return to the Browns for the 2026 season-opening kick, I think the team would be in good hands, or in this case, feet.