Raiders make former Packer Kizer 4th quarterback on 53man roster
That the Raiders kept three quarterbacks on their 53man roster Saturday wasn’t much of a surprise.
That they added another one Sunday arguably was.
The Raiders claimed quarterback DeShone Kizer off waivers from the Packers and waived defensive end Josh Mauro as a corresponding move — giving them four quarterbacks.
Kizer was a 2017 secondround pick by Cleveland out of Notre Dame and started 15 games that season. He completed 255 of 476 passes (53.6%) for 2,894 yards and 11 touchdowns with an NFL-worst 22 interceptions as the Browns went 016.
Kizer was traded to the Packers and spent last season as their backup to Aaron Rodgers, playing in three games with no starts and
completing 20 of 42 passes for 187 yards. Green Bay kept undrafted secondyear quarterback Tim Boyle as its backup this year.
The Raiders already had two backups, Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman, on their roster. On a conference call Saturday, general manager Mike Mayock said both had played their way onto the team this preseason behind starter Derek Carr.
Prior to the 2017 draft, Mayock, then an analyst for NFL Network, was a fan of Kizer.
At one point, Mayock told reporters he considered Kizer his toprated quarterback in the draft ahead of DeShaun Watson, Mitchell Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes. Mayock also said all four of those quarterbacks then had “holes in their game.”
“I think he’s the prototype quarterback in the NFL,” Mayock said of Kizer. “He’s a 65, 235, 240pound quarterback. He’s got a big arm. He’s got a quick release. He’s athletic. He’s smart. He’s got enough athletic ability to move around the pocket. So I love his physical traits. And I think he’ll work hard, and I know he’s smart.”
Mayock was also critical of how Kizer’s “game fell apart in the fourth quarter of a lot of games” at Notre Dame.
“If you like him, you think his game fell apart because he tried to do too much … in the fourth quarter,” Mayock said. “If you don’t like him, you say, well, it’s never going to happen. I felt like his pocket mechanics fell apart. He tried to do too much.”
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, then an analyst for ESPN, also commented on Kizer prior to the 2017 draft.
“I did like his obvious size, and the strength of his arm is impressive,” Gruden said. “Would I use a firstround pick on him? Probably not. I don’t think the body of work is complete. There are some things that he’s got to resolve in terms of endofgame situations, winning. There are some things he’s a little rough around the edges. From a talent standpoint, he’s got a lot of ability.”
This preseason, Kizer completed 25 of 45 passes for 273 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He played briefly in the Packers’ third preseason game, against the Raiders in Winnipeg, Manitoba, completing 4 of 7 passes for 24 yards with an interception and three sacks.
Mauro was a firstteam defensive end in the Raiders’ base defense for most of training camp. He missed the first three preseason games with a hamstring injury and played 41 snaps in the preseason finale. Gruden said the Raiders wanted to get Mauro game snaps before Week 1.
Mauro was expected to help improve an Oakland defense that ranked 30th last year against the run, and it’s possible the Raiders will resign him as a free agent.