The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Rookie QB Kizer set for debut
DeShone Kizer’s connections with Ben Roethlisberger run deeper than their shared Ohio roots, rocket right arms and jersey numbers.
Turns out, Kizer even owned Big Ben.
“I’m sure I drafted him in fantasy leagues,” Cleveland’s rookie quarterback said.
Things are about to get very real for Kizer, who will make his regular-season debut against one of his boyhood idols — and a nasty defense — when the Browns, without top pick Myles Garret, host Roethlisberger and the Steelers.
For Kizer, the former Notre Dame starter who just might be the Browns’ answer to a long-term solution at quarterback, the chance to match up against Roethlisberger is almost too much to believe.
“It is surreal,” he said. “There is a lot of that that has happened. I step out there in all of the preseason games that I play, and I look at guys that I have been watching on TV since I have been young. Big Ben has been playing in this league since I have been in grade school, so that is just a really weird concept.”
Kizer isn’t intimidated in going against a quarterback likely destined for immortalization with a Hall of Fame bust. Kizer may have a lot to learn as a pro, but he knows he doesn’t have to take on Roethlisberger by himself.
“His 11 on offense are going against my 11, and our 11 on offense are going against his defense,” Kizer said. “He is going to become an enemy as soon as that ball gets snapped and we flip the coin. I look forward to being out there.”
After preaching the need to be patient in developing Kizer, Browns coach Hue Jackson decided there was no sense in waiting and made him his starter. Jackson believes Kizer is ready and he’ll challenge him to perform like a seasoned veteran.
“He is a starting quarterback in the National Football League, whether he is young, old or whatever, so he has to go play and he knows that,” Jackson said of Kizer, who will be Cleveland’s 27th different starting QB since 1999. “Do I have an expectation for him? Yes. Does he need to understand the situation in the first game in our stadium against the Pittsburgh Steeler? Yes, he does, but if I know DeShone well, he is gearing up ready to play and excited about the opportunity.”
Haden’s back
For Joe Haden, Sunday’s game is a homecoming he could have never imagined. The cornerback was released last week after seven seasons with the Browns, who felt Haden’s production — he played in 18 games the past two seasons because of injury — wasn’t in line with his $11 million salary.
Haden quickly signed with the Steelers, a team he rarely beat in the past.
“I was just looking forward to trying to get to the playoffs, trying to spread my career to play where I haven’t played,” Haden said. “With them, I knew the opportunity was going to be there.”