Cut once again by the Lions, Riley Patterson cleared waivers on Christmas Day. After making more than 88% of his field goal tries this season, the young kicker has another gig.
The Browns added Patterson to their practice squad Monday, doing so after playing much of their Week 16 game without a kicker. Dustin Hopkins sustained a hamstring injury against the Texans, putting his availability for the Browns’ Thursday-night game in jeopardy.
Hopkins, whom the Browns traded for after Cade York struggled during the preseason, has kicked in all 15 Cleveland games this season. Patterson operated as Detroit’s kicker in 13 games this year, but after an ongoing competition against Michael Badgley during practices, the 24-year-old specialist lost his Lions job for the second time. Detroit also waived Patterson just before the 2022 season.
After spending the 2022 season with the Jaguars, Patterson returned to the Lions — via a trade featuring a late-round pick swap — after Jacksonville’s May Brandon McManus addition. Patterson made 15 of 17 field goals and 35 of 37 extra points during his second Lions stint, but Badgley — who closed out last season as Detroit’s kicker — evidently outperformed him in practice. Badgley has kicked in the Lions’ past two games.
Hopkins, 33, re-signed with the Chargers last year but missed 12 games. Cameron Dicker beat him out for the Bolts’ kicking job during training camp. With Cleveland, Hopkins has made 91.7% of his field goals, making an NFL-high 33 attempts. He is 24-for-26 on PATs.
The former Washington- and Los Angeles-based specialist landed on IR due to a midseason hamstring injury last year, making this his latest malady something to monitor for a Browns team closing in on what would be its third playoff berth since rebooting the franchise in 1999. The Browns placing Hopkins on IR would sideline him for the rest of the regular season and two playoff games, depending on how far Cleveland’s season goes. This P-squad move, thanks to Badgley’s quality practice work, gives the Browns some proven insurance.