Browns’ Kizer gets big test in debut
Rookie quarterback big fan of Steelers’ Roethlisberger
CLEVELAND — connections with run deeper than their shared Ohio roots, rocket right arms and jersey numbers. Turns out, Kizer even owned Big Ben. “I’m sure I drafted him in fantasy leagues,” Cleveland’s rookie quarterback said.
Things are about to get very real today for Kizer, who will make his NFL regularseason debut against one of his boyhood idols — and a nasty defense — when the Browns, without top pick host Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers in their opener.
For Kizer, the former Notre Dame starter who just might be the Browns’ answer to a long-term solution at quarterback, the chance to match up against Roethlisberger is almost too much to believe.
“It is surreal,” he said. “There is a lot of that that has happened. I step out there in all of the preseason games that I play, and I look at guys that I have been watching on TV since I have been young. Big Ben has been playing in this league since I have been in grade school, so that is just a really weird concept.”
Kizer isn’t intimidated in going against a quarterback likely destined for immortalization with a Hall of Fame bust. Kizer may have a lot to learn as a pro, but he knows he doesn’t have to take on Roethlisberger by himself.
“His 11 on offense are going against my 11, and our 11 on offense are going against his defense,” Kizer said. “He is going to become an enemy as soon as that ball gets snapped and we flip the coin. I look forward to being out there.”
After preaching the need to be patient in developing Kizer, Browns coach
decided there was no sense in waiting and made him his starter. Jackson believes Kizer is ready and he’ll challenge him to perform like a seasoned veteran.
“He is a starting quarterback in the National Football League, whether he is young, old or whatever, so he has to go play and he knows that,” Jackson said of Kizer, who will be Cleveland’s 27th different starting QB since 1999. “Do I have an expectation for him? Yes. Does he need to understand the situation in the first game in our stadium against the Pittsburgh Steeler? Yes, he does, but if I know DeShone well, he is gearing up ready to play and excited about the opportunity.”
Just 21, Kizer grew up 45 miles from the hometown of Roethlisberger, who has become something of a folk hero in their region.
Today, Kizer will be closer than ever to Pittsburgh’s No. 7, a player he hopes to emulate.
“He is a guy who doesn’t go down easily,” Kizer said. “He is a guy who obviously prepares like the best of them, and then within his confidence. You have to be a guy who is weatherproof, a guy who is as tough as it gets. That is something that I am going to have to be able to do here in Cleveland.” Steelers signing: The Steelers and defensive end have agreed on a new contract that runs through the 2022 season.
Tuitt, a second-round pick in the 2014 draft, had one year remaining on his rookie deal. Raiders injury: The Oakland Raiders placed long-time kicker on injured reserve Saturday with an injured back and promoted to the active roster. Elliott suspension: A federal judge blocked Dallas Cowboys star
six-game suspension over a domestic violence case Friday, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy legal fight with the NFL.
Last year’s league rushing leader was already cleared to play in the opener against the New York Giants on Sunday night before the ruling by U.S. District Judge It’s uncertain whether an NFL appeal can get the suspension reinstated this season.