The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Teammates want to help Kizer’s mindset
Duke Johnson is elusive with a football in his hands, showing defenders one move and then making them grab at air when he cuts outside and wins the race to a front corner of the goal line.
Ask him about quarterback DeShone Kizer, though, and the Browns’ third-year running back goes straight up the middle with his answer.
“His confidence is probably shot,” Johnson said before practice on Dec. 20. “But that’s where his teammates and family and friends come in to pick him up. We don’t need him to hang his head to show he cares. We know that.”
Kizer is 0-13 as a starting quarterback in his rookie year. He’s ranked 35th among quarterbacks with a 59.4 passer rating. His 19 interceptions are five more than any other quarterback in the NFL has thrown and his 53.9 completion percentage is last in the league.
Confidence, however, isn’t the problem, Kizer said about 10 minutes later when it was his turn to meet with the media.
“No, not at all,” Kizer said. “My confidence will always remain high. This is an unbelievable experience that I’ve been able to go through.
“Obviously, not winning games isn’t the goal, but I have the best job in the world. I’m one of 32 starting quarterbacks in this league, and I’m never going to take that for granted. I have to go out there and continue to work and continue to try to earn it. I’m going to continue to lean on my support staff and lean on my faith to continue to guide me in the right direction to become a better quarterback so that I can continue to stay in the position that I’m in right now.”
General Manager John Dorsey was hired on Dec. 8. He held his first news conference the next day and said quarterback is his top priority.
“This is a quarterbackdriven league,” Dorsey said. “We all know that, and we all know to succeed and go a little bit further and further and further that you need one of those guys.”
Dorsey also said he wants his scouts to rank the top 12 quarterbacks in the 2018 draft. At 0-14, the Browns can clinch the first pick in 2018 with a loss in Chicago or a Giants’ victory in Arizona on Dec. 24.
“Those conversations are what you guys are asking (Dorsey),” Kizer said. “The conversations that I’ve had with him have been to stay on the path and continue to develop. I’ve done my best to make sure that those conversations that are happening outside of this locker room don’t affect anything that I’m doing within this locker room.
“I continue to take the word straight from Coach (Hue) Jackson’s mouth and straight from the GM’s mouth as what I know. What they have told me is continue to work hard and continue to improve myself. That’s what I’ll continue to do.”
Jackson said Kizer will start the last two games of the season.