Cleveland Browns K Jaden Oberkrom Retires

The Cleveland Browns kicking situation is much clearer at least for now.

Jaden Oberkrom‘s time with the Cleveland Browns ended very quickly as he retired from the NFL today. Cleveland officially placed him on their Reserve/Retired list this afternoon.

It is unknown why Oberkrom decided to retire, especially since he was the main kicking competition to Travis Coons. Cleveland holds Oberkrom’s rights if he decides to pursue the NFL in the future.

The former Horned Frog was claimed by the Cleveland Browns on May 18th, and in turn let go of kicker Brad Caddock, a UDFA signing out of the University of Maryland. To take Oberkrom’s roster spot, Cleveland signed former Rice University wide receiver Dennis Parks.

Parks was a 2016 UDFA signing of the Green Bay Packers. In four seasons at Rice, Parks caught 98 passes for 1,507 yards, and eight touchdowns. Though those are not the impressive statistics fans and teams like to see over the course of a college career, Parks does have size (6’2) and that is something you cannot teach.

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Coons has been and will continue to be the starting kicker for Cleveland, but that is not to say competition at the position has ended. Two kickers have already been signed this offseason, so it would not be surprising if the Browns bring in another kicker very soon.

Now would the next option to compete against Coons be a veteran? There are options but the strong likelihood instead is a rookie UDFA. The veterans available have achieved some success, but as I expressed earlier this week, the best option for this season is Coons.

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Now for fewer questions surrounding the kicker position, what all needs to happen? First, Coons needs to improve how high he kicks the football through the uprights.

He kicks the ball lower than many other players at his position. The Cleveland Browns blocking on field goal and extra point attempts also must be better this season.

We all saw first hand the struggles Cleveland’s offense have had over recent seasons. Last season’s issues forced Coons to attempt more field goals than the team would have liked.

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If those aspects of the kicking game can improve, a much improved special teams should be seen regularly. Coons does a great job within 45 yards but there is another part of being a kicker that Coons should work at often.

That aspect is kicking longer distances beyond 45 yards. Though kicks beyond that length are not as often as closer ones, they still occur often enough to be a priority.

When the Cleveland Browns are forced to kick a 50 yard FG, the confidence level in Coons is not as high as it could be. Such a level can only increase once Coons improves that part of his game. Until then, Cleveland may be placed in some tough situations.

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During the Cleveland Browns training camp and the preseason, Coons’ main focus should be focusing on knocking through those longer attempts. Soon enough we will see if he has done better in that part of his game.