Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins did not play well in this week’s preseason opener, but his job is not in jeopardy.
That’s the word from coach Ron Rivera, who said Hopkins has the kicking job locked up and indicated that Hopkins needs more time to work with rookie long snapper Camaron Cheeseman.
“He’s our kicker,” Rivera said of Hopkins. “For right now, we’re going to continue to work it. We’ve got to continue to work on the timing and the rhythm. It is going to be a little bit different. Different snapper, has a little bit more velocity and it’s been a little bit of a challenge, but we’ve got a few weeks. That’s why you have training camp to get those things right.”
Hopkins wasn’t great in 2020, making 79 percent of his field goals and 94 percent of his extra points, with 83 percent of his kickoffs going for touchbacks, but Rivera apparently has enough confidence in Hopkins that he’s in no jeopardy of getting cut.
