Raiders promote Kizer to backup QB behind Carr
Kizer supplants Glennon as No. 2, will suit up Sunday
ALAMEDA » The next man up at quarterback for the Raiders is DeShone Kizer.
The third-year player out of Notre Dame has jumped Mike Glennon on the depth chart and will suit up for his first regular- season game as a Raider on Sunday as the backup to Derek Carr against the Tennessee Titans at the Coliseum.
“I was informed the other day I’d be given an opportunity to jump in and help the team,” Kizer said Thursday following practice.
That doesn’t mean Kizer will play, given that Glennon has made only two appearances this season against Green Bay on Oct. 20 and the New York Jets on Nov. 24. Glennon completed 6 of 10 passes for 56 yards in two games but struggled against the Jets, fumbling three center snaps and losing one.
But Kizer will suit up and this week is running the Raiders offense with limited snaps instead of simulating the opposing team’s offense.
“It’s kind of fun to be Pat Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, but the mindset does change,” Kizer said. “As much as I want to say this week’s practices are going to be the same as last week, it’s a little different. You’re little more honed in on what you’re doing.”
Offensive coordinator Greg Olson confirmed Kizer was the backup but wanted to leave the specifics of the change to coach Jon Gruden, who was not available to the media Thursday. Olson did say that Kizer, who was signed after being cut by Green Bay following an elbow injury to Nathan Peterman at the final cutdown, has worked diligently to learn the offense after going through camp with the Packers.
“DeShone’s an intelligent player. He’s a football junkie, and he’s spent a lot of time by himself in the quarterback room learning the offense,” Olson said.
A second- round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2017, Kizer started 15 games for a team that finished 0-16. He completed 53.6 percent of his passes (255 for 476) for 2,894 yards, 11 touchdowns and 22 interceptions with a passer rating of 60.5.
After the season, the Browns shipped Kizer to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for safety Demarious Randall and a swap of fourth- and fifth-round draft picks. Playing in three games behind Aaron Rodgers, Kizer was 20 of 42 for 187 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Kizer, 23, believes the two situations provided a new perspective on being a quarterback.
“When you come in as a rookie and you’re a young guy and you’re growing in to a starting spot, the head coach tells you how you’re going to play the game, the offense tells you how you’re going to play the game,” Kizer said. “Then you go behind a great one and you’ve got to play the game the way he does, and I’ve been able to re-evaluate who I am and what makes me tick to be able to do things at a consistent rate.”
Kizer, 6-foot- 4 and listed at 235 pounds, said he played at that weight last season but is in considerably better shape.
The input of Carr, Glennon and Peterman, who is injured reserve, has put Kizer on a fast track in a system notorious for being demanding on quarterbacks.
“We push each other and it has allowed me to learn at a higher rate than I ever expected to get the offense down,” Kizer said. “This offense gives the quarterback a lot of responsibility, which requires you to own your craft, to own what you’re doing out there. We’re going to dial up a lot of good stuff, and its on you to make sure you’re in the right play and executing the right play.”
• Linebacker Marquel Lee, activated this week from injured reserve, should make his debut against the Titans. The third-year linebacker from Wake Forest has fully recovered from an ankle injury.
“Excited to be back with my guys, excited to make this run,” Lee said. “We control our destiny right now.”
Lee said the time on injured reserve allowed him to “get back healthy, clear my mind a little bit. I took it in stride.”
With the Titans running a power offense featuring 245-pound running back Derek Henry, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said the Raiders would likely use more base (4- 3) defense. Most of the season, the Raiders have been predominantly a nickel defense team with Tahir Whitehead and Nicholas Morrow get the the bulk of the work among the linebackers.
“This has been a good week for him, a lot of base downs, he’s been practicing the last few weeks, looks good, hopefully he can be effective for us Sunday,” Guenther said.
• The Raiders went without three key players at practice in running back Josh Jacobs (shoulder), right tackle Trent Brown (pectoral) and guard Gabe Jackson (knee).
All three have been nursing their injuries all season. For Jacobs, it was the first time since hurting his shoulder against Green Bay on Oct. 20 that he has missed consecutive practices. Brown is a concern because the pectoral injury is a new one. He’s been listed with a knee injury for more than a month.
It may not be a big deal in that the Raiders had their final padded practice of the season, having reached their allotment as per the collective bargaining agreement, and keeping Jacobs, Brown and Jackson out of practice contact is a logical move.
The Raiders have not confirmed Jacobs’ statement social media (snapchat) this week that he’s been playing with a shoulder fracture.
• With the Raiders at 6- 6 and facing a 7-5 Titans team, Olson resisted the notion that the Raiders would start the evaluation process with a quarter of the season to play in order to get a jump on setting their 2020 roster.
” We’re in a great situation right now starting with Tennessee and the last quarter of the season,” Olson said. “We’re playing to win the football game. People always talk about ‘ Do you need to evaluate somebody?’ We’re not even thinking about the offseason right now. We’re going to play the 111 players we think will give us the best chance to score points on Sunday and that’s where we’re at.”
That said, receivers are expected to be shuff led against the Titans, with potentially more snaps for Keelan Doss and Marcel Ateman.