Kizer appears close to being named starter
TAMPA, Fla. — DeShone Kizer’s dress rehearsal didn’t exactly earn him a standing ovation, but it still may have been enough to win the starting quarterback job with the Cleveland Browns.
Heading into a 13-9 victory Saturday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coach Hue Jackson acknowledged that Kizer would have to fall flat on his face to lose the job — and that didn’t happen.
“He moved the ball and made some things happen. … I felt comfortable with him,” Jackson said of Kizer. “I thought he managed the team well, accomplished some things and we’ll keep coaching him up.”
Jackson declined to say that Kizer had won the starting job.
“He’s doing everything I’m asking him to do,” Jackson said. “I think he’s doing everything that he needs to do to prepare himself for this opportunity. He did some good things and made a jump, but I’m not ready to just (name him the starter). I will here soon, but I like to watch the tape and make sure everything is correct before I make that decision.”
Kevin Hogan led a drive late in the fourth quarter capped with a 5-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jordan Leslie with 1:53 remaining to improve the Browns to 3-0 in preseason play.
Kizer, who was replaced by Cody Kessler in the third quarter, played on a soggy field with occasional downpours. He finished with an ugly 28.2 rating, and a meager 33.3 completion percentage on 6-of-18 passing. But he didn’t get much help from his receivers.
Overall, he passed for 93 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception on a deflected ball, and mustered one field goal in his five drives.
But his field position was horrible, receiver Kenny Britt dropped a pass at the Bucs’ 5 and Duke Johnson fumbled the ball away at Tampa Bay’s 10.
Corey Coleman was the only bright spot on the receiving end, making some acrobatic third-down catches. But even then, he caught only three of his seven targets for 56 yards, with 32 of those coming on the field goal drive, and was flagged for interference.
All Browns stand during anthem
About 30 Browns players stood arm-to-arm in a line during the national anthem.
The long line of players stood together just in front of the Browns bench, behind the rest of the players and coaches standing closer to the field.
All players on both teams were standing during the anthem Saturday night.
This came five days after a home preseason game against the New York Giants when more than a dozen Browns players formed a circle on the team’s sideline Monday night and prayed in silent protest during the national anthem.