The Washington Commanders’ merry-go-round at kicker continued Monday when they released Cade York after one game. York missed two field goal attempts and had one kickoff go out of bounds in Washington’s season-opening loss at Tampa Bay.
The Commanders acquired York from the Cleveland Browns last month for a conditional seventh-round pick. The condition was that he must play in two games for Washington. He didn’t, so the pick will not go to the Browns.
Shortly after releasing York, Ben Standig of The Athletic reported the Commanders planned to sign Austin Siebert.
The 27-year-old Siebert was a fifth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 NFL draft. He was released early in his second season with the Browns after missing a field goal and an extra point. The Bengals claimed him off waivers, and he kicked in four games in 2020.
The Bengals cut Siebert during final cuts in 2021, and the Detroit Lions claimed him. He remained with the Lions until Oct. 2022, when he was again waived. In 2023, he spent time on the practice squads of the Saints and Jets. The Jets re-signed Siebert to their practice squad after New Orleans released him last December.
He spent the offseason with the Jets and was released during final cuts last month.
For his NFL career, Siebert has appeared in 31 games, made 56 of his 62 point-after attempts, and is 45 of 56 (80%) on field goal attempts. His career-long is from 53 yards.
Since releasing Brandon McManus in June, Washington has signed or traded for Ramiz Ahmed, Riley Patterson, York, and Siebert.
An interesting note about Siebert: Like York, he was also a Cleveland Browns’ mid-round draft pick, with York essentially replacing him almost two years after he was waived.