While the Cincinnati Bengals have one of the
slimmest margins of error to make the playoffs, the team may have to rely on a beleaguered kicker in the process.
Cincinnati (4–8) signed
free agent Cade York as a replacement on Wednesday after kicker Evan McPherson went on injured reserve due to a right groin injury. York
hasn’t played in an NFL game since Week 1, when
he missed two field goal attempts for the Washington Commanders and was later released.
Despite kicking for one of the greatest college football teams of all time at LSU in 2019, York’s NFL career hasn’t gone as planned. The Cleveland Browns selected York in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, and he went 24-32 on field goals and 35-37 on extra points as a rookie.
Cleveland
didn’t stick with York in 2023 after a preseason trade brought former Los Angeles Chargers kicker Dustin Hopkins to the shore of Lake Eerie. The Browns released York, and he spent part of the 2023 season with the
Tennessee Titans’ practice squad, followed by an injury-riddled time with the New York Giants that year.
York suffered a quad injury in December 2023 and went on injured reserve. He never played in a game for the Giants, which
picked him up from the Titans practice squad in November 2023. New York didn’t keep him after the season, and he got
a second chance with the Browns in March before the team traded him to the Commanders in August.
York will reunite with former 2019 LSU teammates Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, two of the Bengals’ biggest stars. Their collegiate squad dominated in 2019
, with a 15–0 record and national championship, as the offense piled on 48.4 points per game.
Burrow and Chase have turned the Bengals into a regular AFC playoff threat, but this season’s ups and downs have Cincinnati in danger of missing the postseason.
McPherson had been part of the Bengals’ struggles this season, with
a 16-22 mark on field goals. All eight of the Bengals’ losses have come by one score, and three of the losses were by a field goal or less.
York will likely get his first action with the Bengals in Week 14 against the Dallas Cowboys (5–7), a must-win game for both teams. The Bengals signed York to the practice squad on Wednesday but don’t have another kicker on the roster or practice squad besides McPherson.
Cincinnati also moved offensive tackle Andrew Stueber from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Wednesday.
