There has been one constant for the Washington Football Team in an era defined by instability and change. The triumvirate of kicker Dustin Hopkins, punter Tress Way, and long snapper Nick Sundberg have been together for seven seasons. Quarterbacks, running backs, coaches, general managers, and team presidents have come and gone, but the team’s three specialists have been a constant. That could change as early as this week.
After another week in which Hopkins missed a makeable field goal, head coach Ron Rivera said Monday that the team might have to consider a new kicker. Or at least a competition.
“It’s something that we are talking about and discussing,” Rivera said on his daily zoom call with reporters. “The hard part is when you bring a guy in; you have to make sure you have a guy that fits you, that has a lot of experience because you’re going to replace an experienced guy. Again, it’s something that we’re discussing.”
2020 has been a struggle for Hopkins. He’s hit 12 of 17 of his attempts with misses in 5 games. His longest kick of the year has been 48 yards.
Before this year, his worst, percentage-wise, was 2016, when he hit 80% of his attempts. Of his misses that year, four of them were from beyond 50 yards. This year, he’s attempted just one kick from over 50 yards.
Hopkins came into the Detroit game questionable with a groin injury. He was listed as day-to-day on the injury report all week but was healthy on Sunday, hitting kicks from 60 yards in warmups. Still, it appeared coaches were concerned about his health or his accuracy as Rivera elected to punt after the team’s first drive stalled on the Lions 38 yard line.
“That was a range,” Rivera said. “One of the things that happen is that [special teams coordinator] Nate Kaczor will come up to me and talk to me about probabilities. We also take into fact that, at that point, if you miss it, the opponent gets the ball right there.”
It’s unclear if the team would elevate practice squad kicker Kaare Vedvik or bring free agents to compete.