Kizer continues to make case to be starting QB
CLEVELAND — DeShone Kizer headed into the Giants game Monday night with a chance to make Hue Jackson’s decision on his starting quarterback difficult, and he did just that.
It wasn’t always pretty, but Kizer made enough plays during a 10-6 victory over the Giants to at least make Jackson think about giving him a longer look. If he deems him not ready to start the season, he’ll still likely play sooner than later.
The Browns, who improved to 2-0, play again Saturday night in Tampa in the dress rehearsal game, and Jackson has said his starter for that third outing will also likely be his man for the seasonopener against the Steelers on Sept. 10.
Jackson yanked starter Brock Osweiler after only two series so he could get a look at Kizer against the Giants’ starters and their formidable defensive front. The Browns wanted to see if he could build on the preseason opener, when he threw two long fourth-quarter bombs that led to scores and a 20-14 come-frombehind victory.
The results for Kizer against the Giants were mixed, but he did something that Osweiler has been unable to do in his six preseason series: put points on the board. Ten
Commissioner Roger Goodell is on track to maintain his prominent place at the table for the next round of collective bargaining between NFL owners and players, a process that’s sure to be contentious.
The league is working on a five-year contract extension for Goodell, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal is not complete. Sports Business Journal first reported the contract negotiations.
Goodell’s contract is up after the 2019 season. The new deal would cover the 2024 season. That’s a clear signal of the trust the owners have in Goodell to help steer the league through another labor agreement, since the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2020 season. of them, to be exact.
In his four series of work, including the first three against the starters, Kizer ran in from the 1 for a TD that made it 7-3, and engineered a 15-play, third-quarter field-goal drive to make
Goodell became commissioner in 2006. He earned just over $31 million for the 2015 season, down from about $34 million in 2014. Because the league office is no longer classified as a taxexempt organization, the commissioner’s salary is no longer required to be made public through tax filings.
Boldin sees bigger calling than football
A deadly, racially charged conflict in Charlottesville, Virginia, caused Anquan Boldin to reassess his priorities and led to the Buffalo Bills receiver’s decision to retire after 14 NFL seasons.
In an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Boldin said he’s “uncomfortable” with how divided the nation is and wants to dedicate his entire focus to humanitarian and criminal justice causes.
“I always felt like football would be my passion, football would be the path to a lot of it 10-3.
Overall, he completed 8-of-13 attempts for 74 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions for a 77.1 rating. He was also sacked twice and ran five times for 35 yards, including the 1-yard TD and a long gain of 12.
Osweiler completed 6-of-8 attempts for 25 yards with no touchdowns and one interception for a 38.0 rating. It was even worse than the 50.3 rating he posted in the preseason opener against the Saints.
Browns players kneel during national anthem
A number of Browns players knelt and huddled during the national anthem. Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson, Seth DeValve, Jamie Collins, Kenny Britt, Ricardo Louis and Jamar Taylor were among the players who knelt together behind the team near the bench.
Kizer, Shon Coleman, Britton Colquitt and things,” Boldin said. “But just seeing the things that transpired over the last week or so, I think for me, there’s something bigger than football at this point.
“Do I think I can solve all the problems that we have in this country? Of course not. But I think I have a duty to stand up and make my voice heard and be a voice for those who don’t have a voice.”
Notable
New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. suffered a sprained ankle but no concussion when he took a legal-but-questionable hit on the knee from Browns cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun on Monday night.
Beckham caught an 18-yard pass and was coming down on his left leg when he was immediately hit by Boddy-Calhoun’s right shoulder and helmet. The impact flipped Beckham onto his side and his head bounced off the turf. Jason McCourty were among players who stood with the group. Colquitt stood behind the group and pointed skyward.
Jackson came under fire last week when he said, in response to a question about the anthem protests, “I hope that wouldn’t happen here.”
Jackson read a prepared statement later in the week, clarifying his feelings on the anthem protests.
“Our players know that I have a great appreciation for every single one of them,” Jackson said. “I respect and support their right for peaceful protest; a right afforded to every American. We’ve always made it clear to our players that they should embrace the platform they have as an NFL player to improve our community and use their platform in a positive, thoughtful and respectful manner.”
Denver coach Vance Joseph said that Trevor Siemian will be the Broncos’ starting quarterback after beating out Paxton Lynch. Siemian, a 2015 seventhround draft pick out of Northwestern who won the starting job last year when he beat out veteran Mark Sanchez, quickly surged ahead of Lynch, a first-rounder in 2016 from Memphis, when training camp opened.
The NFL signed a three-year deal to make its games available through digital streaming in China. Tencent Sports announced that it has partnered with the NFL to air live and on-demand select preseason games and Thursday, Sunday and Monday night games. Select Sunday afternoon and all postseason games for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons will also be made available in China, along with non-game league programming like the NFL Draft.