The Browns decided to move on from Cade York as their starting kicker ahead of the 2023 NFL season. They traded for former Chargers kicker Dustin Hopkins to fill the void and that has gone swimmingly to date.
Hopkins has made a league-high 33 field goals through Week 16. He has missed just three times while impressively making all eight of his kicks from beyond 50 yards.
However, despite Hopkins’ success, he won’t be kicking for the Browns in their “Thursday Night Football” clash with the Jets in Week 17. There are questions about his availability beyond that as well, as he is nursing a hamstring injury that he suffered against the Texans.
The Browns had to bring in a replacement kicker to handle the job while Hopkins is sidelined. Luckily for them, they managed to get a talented, experienced player who is known for having strong accuracy.
Here’s what to know about the Browns’ replacement kicker, Riley Patterson.
Who is the Browns kicker?
Riley Patterson is the Browns’ new kicker. The Browns signed the 24-year-old to their practice squad just six days after the Lions released him.
Patterson has been in the league since 2021 after he went undrafted out of Memphis. The Browns represent the fifth different organization for which he has kicked during his three-year NFL career to date.
Patterson had two stints with the Lions in 2021 and 2023 that were sandwiched by a year that he spent as the Jaguars’ kicker. He also spent time with the Vikings and Patriots during his rookie season in 2021, but he never kicked for either of them.
Riley Patterson stats
Patterson has played 37 games during his NFL career, all of which he served as his squad’s primary kicker. He has made 58 of 66 career field goals, good for a mark of 87.9 percent, which would be good for a top-five mark in NFL history once he meets the minimum requirement of 100 field goal attempts.
Below is a look at Patterson’s stats by season with the Lions and Jaguars, the only two teams for which he has kicked.
| Year | Team | FGM | FGA | FG% | Long | XPM | XPA | XP% |
| 2021 | Lions | 13 | 14 | 92.9 | 49 | 16 | 16 | 100 |
| 2022 | Jaguars | 30 | 35 | 85.7 | 53 | 36 | 37 | 97.3 |
| 2023 | Lions | 15 | 17 | 88.2 | 52 | 35 | 37 | 94.6 |
| Total | 58 | 66 |
Why did the Lions release Riley Patterson?
When looking at Patterson’s numbers with the Lions, some may be wondering exactly why Patterson was released. After all, he has been a rock-solid kicker with good accuracy during his career.
The decision stemmed from a competition that Detroit was holding during practice between Patterson and Michael Badgley, as special teams coordinator Dave Fipp explained.
“Internally, we had those guys competing in practice and so they would each get roughly six kicks a day and we’d kick them at least twice a week, so it was 12 kicks a week,” Fipp said, per SBNation. “And over the course of six weeks, Badgley had been better, and we didn’t want to rush to make that decision right away. We felt like he deserved as fair of an opportunity as we could have given him, but it was clear at the end of the day that he was playing better.”
It isn’t clear exactly what Badgley was doing better, but it may have had to do with his leg strength compared to Patterson’s lack thereof.
While Patterson has been accurate inside of 50 yards during his career, he has only made 3 of 6 attempts from beyond 50 yards. That by itself isn’t a terrible number, but considering that his longest make came from 53 yards, it’s clear that he doesn’t have the range needed to consistently make deep kicks.
Comparatively, Badgley isn’t as accurate, as he has made just 95 of 116 field goals (81.9 percent) and has made just 5 of 13 attempts from 50-plus yards. However, he has a career-long of 59 yards.
That range may have helped “The Money Badger” separate himself from Patterson in what was evidently a tightly contested midseason kicking battle.
What happened to Dustin Hopkins?
Hopkins suffered a hamstring injury while attempting to make a tackle on Dameon Pierce’s 98-yard kick return touchdown in Week 15.
Hopkins tried to chase down Pierce on the play but failed. He labored back to the sideline, clutching at his leg, and was ruled out because of the injury.
The Browns didn’t attempt an extra point or field goal for the rest of the game with Hopkins out of action. He is being deemed “week to week” as a result of the injury and will be out of action for Week 17 at the very least.
So, Patterson will at least get one week to state his case for a starting kicker job somewhere. And pending Hopkins’ health, it could be longer.
