Kizer not worried about failed deal to get McCarron
Rookie QB is still focused on his improvement.
DeShone Kizer BEREA — didn’t let t he Browns’ attempt to trade for Bengals backup quarterback AJ McCarron spoil a perfect bye week, complete with a trip back to Notre Dame.
“It’s part of this business,” the rookie quarterback said Wednesday. “That has absolutely nothing to do with my development and where this team stands. It’s just another way of letting me know that I need to step my game up, knowing that I have another opportunity this week to be the starting quarterback here.
“I look forward to going out and proving myself.”
Kizer didn’t ask for an explanation of the Browns’ actions. Ultimately, the deal fell through because the Browns didn’t send a trade consent to the NFL by the 4 p.m. deadline.
“There’s no reason for [an explanation],” said Kizer, who will start Sunday in Detroit. “He’s not here. I’m the starting quarterback this week, and I’m looking forward to continuing to grow, develop and become a better quarterback each time I step out on the field.”
He said he wasn’t paying attention to trade chatter.
“Quite frankly, I don’t have Twitter so I didn’t really know much about it,” said Kizer, who actuallydoes have a Twitter account. “[The trade] didn’t go through so it didn’t really affect me too much. We were on a bye week. I was spending time with my family and that was my frame of mind.
“I’m back here in the same position that I am and I’m with the same guys in the locker room, obviously, with a big addition in [ Josh Gordon]. Other than that, we’re really the same squad preparing ourselves to go out against the Detroit Lions.”
Did the trade talks provide new motivation?
“I have 10,000 reasons to be motivated to go out and play better . ... I’ve been getting better each week, and I look forward to coming out here after a nice bye week and preparing myself to go
SUNDAY’S GAME
Browns at Lions, 1 p.m., WHIO-TV Ch. 7, AM 1290, News 95.7 WHIO out there and have my best game yet.”
Coach Hue Jackson said he addressed the failed trade with Kizer only in passing. Jackson is of the mind that an NFL quarterback must have thick skin. He said he saw the same Kizer in practice on Wednesday as always.
“I’m always very honest with our players,” he said. “I don’t sugarcoat anything. At the end of the day, the most important thing is nothing changed so here we go. I don’t want players worried about those things anyways. You have a job to do and that’s all you can control. You have to let everything else take care of itself.”
Jackson acknowledged he may have tweaked some things for Kizer during the bye. As it was, he was implementing shorter passes the past few games. Still, Kizer is last in several NFL categories including rating (51.1), completion percentage (52.1), touchdown passes (3) and interceptions (11). The Browns are also next to last in scoring at 14.9 points per game.
“There could be some things that we do a little different,” Jackson said. “We were making strides in some areas the last several weeks. ... There are some things we will try a little different just to see if we can spark this offense a little more.
“We have to find a way to get the ball in the end zone a little more to have a chance over the next eight weeks.”
Campbell cut: The Browns parted ways with another Ray Farmer-era draft pick Thursday, waiving safety Ibraheim Campbell with an injury designation. Campbell injured his hamstring during practice Wednesday.
Campbell, a fourth round pick in 2015, appeared in 37 games with 11 starts.
The team also signed defensive back Derron Smith, who had been on Cincinnati’s practice squad. Smith, in his third season out of Fresno State, was also drafted in 2015, in the sixth round by the Bengals. He has appeared in 31 career games.