All those preseason failures last year were not the low point for Cade York.
“At that point, I thought I had hit rock bottom, but God still had a little work to do before I got to the bottom,” he said Saturday night.
York was back, throwing kicks in the familiar surroundings of Cleveland Browns Stadium during the Browns’ preseason loss to the Packers. So much had changed in a year… nothing more than York himself.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson a bright spot in the 23-10 loss to the Packers at the start of the preseason
He was released by the Browns on Aug. 28 after a disastrous preseason — he made 4 of 8 field goals, not including a missed shot that was canceled by a penalty — that took him from fourth-round pick and Week 1 hero in 2022 to flop and exit less than a year later. He played with the Titans and Giants, suffered a torn quadriceps muscle, never played in a game and sank to new depths.
The low point came gradually.
First, he was home over Christmas because of his hamstring injury and the Giants were playing against the Eagles.
“I was supposed to play, but it was on TV and I had my mom turn it off. I was like, ‘I don’t want to watch this crap,'” York said. “And then I was pretty gloomy and depressed the whole week, wallowing in self-pity.”
Center Luke Wypler breaks his ankle and needs surgery
For the final dive, he was again in a “lousy” hotel in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“I was eating and the food didn’t taste good. It wasn’t bad food. I was just in such a bad mood and so angry that I actually started trashing my room,” York said. “I started throwing my stuff, started yelling at God and out of nowhere I got pulled to my knees, started praying and I was like, ‘All right, God can’t do anything more for me. I have to give up everything. Take my career, take my finances, take all the addictions, take all the relationships, take everything from me.’
“I remember opening my eyes and thinking, ‘That was strange.’ I had this crazy feeling like God had lifted this burden from me.”
Notes: Amari Cooper has the evening off but remains engaged and listens to game calls through the headset throughout the game
York was open about his faith last year, but has now doubled down. He connected with Steve Weatherford, a former Giants punter who leads a church in Dallas and wants to serve others while serving God.
“I want to be a man who prays for people,” he said.
BACK WHERE HE BEGAN
The last 12 months have been humiliating.
York was the only kicker in training camp last year, although his rookie season was marked by ups and downs, with him making 24 of 32 field goals (75 percent) and 35 of 37 extra points. The Browns opted to draft him in the fourth round, the earliest they’d drafted a kicker in years, culminating in a 58-yard kick in the final seconds of his debut that beat Baker Mayfield and the Panthers.
The second-year preseason failures forced general manager Andrew Berry to lose patience. After York missed a potentially game-winning 43-yard field goal in the finale against the Chiefs, he was released and the Browns traded him for veteran Dustin Hopkins.
“It was definitely disappointing,” York said. “I definitely didn’t perform great in preseason and I can’t say I didn’t deserve to lose my place at that point, but I didn’t see it coming all the time.”
The Browns offered a spot on the practice squad, but York opted for the Titans’ practice squad.
“Nashville looked like I had a future there and could eventually take this job, and of course everything just happened like crazy,” he said. “It was just a decision in the moment. I love Cleveland. It was really hard to leave.”
He returned to the Browns in March on a minimum contract, relieving Hopkins, who finished last season with a torn hamstring, from offseason reps. The Browns made the hierarchy crystal clear by giving Hopkins a three-year, $15.9 million extension at the start of training camp.
Unless Hopkins gets injured, York will try out for other teams this preseason.
“I’m just kicking the ball,” he said. “A lot of things are out of my control. So I’m just going to take advantage of every opportunity I get. Whether that means I’m here, whether that means I’m somewhere else, it’s kind of out of my control. I’ve just got to kick the ball.”
He didn’t expect to return to the Browns, but is “super grateful” and has a “completely different mindset.” When he was healthy after last season, he missed a lot of opportunities across the league.
“Doors closed when I thought they wouldn’t. And then the door opened in Cleveland,” York said. “I prayed about it and felt like God was calling me back here, both for things on the field and off it.”
TURNING POINTS
York handled all kicking duties against the Packers because Hopkins had the night off. The good: York made a 55-yard field goal in the first quarter and got an extra point in the fourth quarter. The bad: Two of three kickoffs went into the end zone and resulted in touchbacks, leaving the team without coverage under the new rules.
“I should have landed them on the goal line. They just flew at me,” he said. “So those are things I need to work on.”
York had not played a game since the Kansas City debacle last preseason, and he described the time he had not played as the toughest thing he had ever experienced.
“Because you just know the talent level,” he said.
He was scheduled to play for the Giants in December, but tore his right quadriceps in practice after suffering a mild strain weeks earlier. He is healthy again and has switched to a two-pronged approach to the ball.
“I don’t do jab step anymore, but I still have the same mindset and I still know that I’m really good at what I do,” he said.
York’s problem last preseason was that he could do everything in practice but failed in games. He credits a Titans coach for helping to solve that problem.
“I got so aggressive on the ball,” York said. “I was great in practice, but then the extra bit of adrenaline in the game threw everything off balance. So I basically just dug in, watched a lot of old LSU film and thought about what made me really good in college, and then I combined what I liked and didn’t like and found something that was a little more controllable.”
He met Hopkins at a kicking camp before his rookie season and there was a spark between them. York was happy to be reunited.
“From the outside, it might look like he and I don’t like each other. But, dude, I love Dustin so much,” he said. “It’s a great thrill that you have to step in at the moment, and it sucked, but it’s also like there’s no better guy to do this to. So I really enjoyed my time with him.”
