According to his Instagram, Matthew McCrane seems to think Cleveland rocks.
The kicker, two weeks removed from his 26th birthday, is apparently set to join the Cleveland Browns per his Instagram page. McCrane’s most recent professional endeavor was the XFL’s winter run, he represented the New York Guardians.
At the end of the XFL’s five game run, McCrane was one of two kickers (along with Austin MacGinnis in Dallas) to convert each of his field goal attempts, booting eight triples in the Guardians’ 3-2 campaign. In the Guardians’ final MetLife Stadium showing on February 29, McCrane’s 47-yard conversion was the difference in a 17-14 win over Los Angeles. His longest field goal of the season was a 53-yarder earned in a loss in St. Louis the preceding week.
As one of the New Yorkers with prior NFL experience, McCrane had a bit of a leadership role in the locker room. Notably, he used his connections to the Shriners Hospital for Children to arrange a visit involving he and several of his teammates during XFL training camp in Houston.
“I was planning on going to the hospital by myself, and I had brought it up with a couple of other guys and they said, hey, you know, bring that up at the team meeting. That might be something that that other guys want to join in,” McCrane said of the trip back in January. “I was glad to see a handful of guys show up and want to give some of their time on an early morning, on an off day.”
In his post announcing his Cleveland arrival, McCrane paid tribute to former Browns kicker Phil Dawson. The retired kicker spent nearly two decades in the NFL after going undrafted out of Texas in 1998. Dawson would go on to become the Browns’ kicker during their 1999 revival season and held the position for 14 seasons.
McCrane was called upon to replace Dawson for a single game when the latter suffered an injury in his final NFL season with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. He converted three extra points in a 23-21 loss to Carolina. Previously, McCrane earned a pair of 50+-yard triples during Arizona’s preseason slate.
McCrane will likely head to Cleveland’s practice squad, as veteran Cody Parkey is on the active roster. Parkey was added after Austin Seibert missed a field goal and an extra point in the Browns’ loss to Baltimore on opening weekend. Fellow XFL alumni on the Cleveland practice squad include fullback Johnny Stanton (Los Angeles) and offensive lineman Michael Dunn (Seattle).
Cleveland will be the fourth NFL stop of McCrane’s career, having spent parts of the 2018 season with Arizona, Oakland, and Pittsburgh after a four-year tenure at Kansas State. The Browns (1-1) return to action on Sunday for a home game against the Washington Football Team (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Unleash the Action: Sign up for XFL Insider and Fuel Your Passion for Football!
