Browns name rookie Kizer as starting QB
Rookie will be 15th starting QB in an opener since 1999.
Coach Hue Jackson named DeShone Kizer the starter for the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Browns coach Hue Jackson put his team’s quarterback competition to bed Sunday, tucking in rookie DeShone Kizer by naming him the starter for the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jackson announced during a conference call that Kizer had won the job over Brock Osweiler.
“DeShone is our starting quarterback,” Jackson said. “He’s earned the right to play through his preparation. He’s established a work ethic that I think has earned the respect of his teammates.
“It’s been good to watch his development throughout the offseason. Obviously, he’s a young quarterback, and he still has a lot to learn. He’s going to learn a lot and gain a lot of experience, and the only way you get that is by playing.”
Jackson said last week he wanted to put the quarterback derby to bed, but he stopped short and gave himself an out in case Kizer flopped Saturday night in
the third preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kizer didn’t post great statistics as the starter of the dress rehearsal — 6-of-18 passing for 93 yards with an interception and a rating of 28.2 — but those numbers were misleading because of dropped passes and poor field position.
Wide receiver Kenny Britt dropped a third-down pass at the Bucs’ 5-yard line, forcing the Browns to settle for a field goal, and running back Duke Johnson lost a fumble at Tampa Bay’s 10. Three of Kizer’s five series started inside the Browns’ 10, at their 1, 3 and 9. An indication of Kizer’s poise, he completed 5 of 8 passes on third down.
All things considered, the second-round draft pick from Notre Dame actually had a solid outing in Jackson’s mind and did enough while playing the first half of the Browns’ 13-9 win in Tampa to clinch the job heading into Week 1.
So Kizer will be the Browns’ 27th starting quarterback and their 15th starting QB in an opener since 1999.
He’ll be only the second rookie quarterback to start in Week 1 for the franchise during the expansion era.
Brandon Weeden was the first, but there’s a significant difference. A former professional baseball player, Weeden was 28 when he entered the 2012 season as the starter. Kizer turned 21 on Jan. 3.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only four quarterbacks 21 or younger have started an opener since the 1988 season: Drew Bledsoe (1993), Matthew Stafford (2009), Jameis Winston (2015) and Marcus Mariota (2015).
At Notre Dame, Kizer went 8-3 as a starter in 2015, then 4-8 last season.
His elite size, arm strength and mobility allow him to make phenomenal plays at times, but he still struggles with the accuracy issues that plagued him in college.
Kizer has played 14 series this preseason and completed 25 of 49 passes (51 percent) for 351 yards and a touchdown with an interception for a rating of 72.7.
He has rushed eight times for 47 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown, and taken five sacks.
Osweiler, whose record as an NFL starter is 13-8 in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs, started the first two preseason games, but Jackson didn’t play him Saturday after promoting Kizer to first in the QB rotation.
When the Browns traded for a 2018 second-round pick of the Houston Texans on March 9, Osweiler and the $16 million guar- anteed on his contract were thrown in.
More than five months later, the Browns are still open to dealing Osweiler, 26, who failed to produce points in his six series this preseason and completed 12-of-22 passes (54.5 percent) for 67 yards with an interception and a rating of 41.3 to go along with two carries for 16 yards and no sacks.
Jackson said Osweiler, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan are all candidates for the No. 2 quarterback job.
Jackson said he hasn’t decided whether Kizer will play in the preseason finale Thursday against the Bears.