The Browns' miraculous win over the Packers wouldn't have been possible without their young kicker.
Who is the Browns' kicker? Meet Andre Szmyt after game-winning field goal vs. Packers originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Browns needed a hero to take down the Packers, and they found one in their 26-year-old kicker.
In just his third NFL game, Cleveland kicker Andre Szmyt was instrumental in the franchise's upset win over the Packers, drilling a 55-yard, game-winning field goal to seal an improbable victory.
Szmyt finished his college career three years ago, but he is taking full advantage of his first in-season NFL opportunity and appears to be here to stay for the Browns.
Here's what you need to know about Szmyt and his path to Cleveland.
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Who is the Browns' kicker?
The Browns gave kicking duties to Andre Szmyt after a training camp competition with veteran Dustin Hopkins.
The decision to go with the inexperienced Szmyt (pronounced the same as the name, "Schmidt") was a risk for a Browns team that knew it would need to rely on quality field goal kicking unless its offense massively overachieved, and the results started to show themselves in Week 3.
Szmyt had never even attempted a field goal of longer than 45 yards before the Browns asked him to kick from 55 yards to upset the Packers, but he stayed cool and calm before drilling the biggest kick of his life.
Before getting a chance with the Browns, Szmyt spent five seasons as Syracuse's kicker. He spent time in the offseason with the Bears after going undrafted in 2023 but had to settle for an opportunity with the UFL's St. Louis Battlehawks in 2024. After signing a reserve/future contract with the Browns at the end of the 2024 season, Szmyt was waived, re-signed weeks later and showed enough in the preseason to edge out Hopkins for the job.
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Andre Szmyt game-winning field goal
The Browns would have liked to gain better field position after a blocked Brandon McManus field goal attempt gave them an unexpected chance to win, but they chose Szmyt over Hopkins because they had confidence he could make kicks like this:
THIS TEAM HAS FIGHT#GBvsCLE on FOX & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/53k3WuI5iV
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 21, 2025
Szmyt's kick easily had the length despite being a career-long in his third NFL game, and the 26-year-old became a hero for at least one day by giving the Browns their first win of the season and completing one of the biggest stunners of the early weeks of the NFL season.
Where did Andre Szmyt go to college?
Szmyt spent his college days at Syracuse, impressing with a field goal percentage better than 88 percent as a true freshman and holding onto the job for five seasons.
After a 20-of-26 performance as a fifth-year senior in 2022, Szmyt went undrafted and couldn't take advantage of his first opportunity with the Bears, but his patience appears to be paying off at long last.
Category: Football
