Browns Demote Kevin Hogan To No. 3 QB
Things just keep getting weirder in Cleveland. The Browns have demoted last week’s starting quarterback Kevin Hogan to the third string, according to Field Yates and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, former No. 3 QB Cody Kessler has been elevated to No. 2 QB. 
The Browns threw everyone a curveball in Week 6 when they benched rookie DeShone Kizer in favor of Hogan. On Wednesday morning, the Browns switched them back. Hogan did not perform well against Houston on Sunday, but it’s strange to see him cycled through the depth chart so quickly.
The bizarre shuffling of the QBs won’t do much to silence talk of discord between coach Hue Jackson and the front office. Jackson was a big proponent of riding with Kizer through his rookie mistakes this year. Meanwhile, the front office is high on Kessler, but it was said that Jackson did not plan to play him.
With Kessler now installed as the main backup, Kizer will return to his role as the starter this Sunday when the Browns face the Titans.
Latest On Rift Between Browns’ Execs, Coach
Publicly, all of the Browns’ key players are saying the right things. But, with more and more stories coming out about discord between coach Hue Jackson and team brass, it’s apparent that something isn’t right in Cleveland. 
[RELATED: Browns To Start DeShone Kizer]
Jackson came to the Browns prior to the 2016 season with a vow to win right off of the bat and said the team would not rebuild, but “retool.” With that in mind, Jackson and his staff were miffed this offseason when the Browns shipped linebacker Demario Davis back to the Jets and released cornerback Joe Haden, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com hears.
Through six weeks, Davis is third in the NFL in tackles with 53. Haden, meanwhile, is playing quality football with the Steelers. The Browns, still searching for their first win heading into Sunday’s game against the Titans, could use some players like that.
The rift between the coaching staff and the front office could result in a shakeup at the executive level, though the Browns deny reports of shopping for executives. Peyton Manning‘s name has come up as a potential GM candidate for the Browns, but Cabot hears that the QB’s recent trip to Cleveland was not for the purpose of discussing the job.
If Manning – a good friend of owner Jimmy Haslam – winds up as the team’s next GM, the Browns still might want to surround him with experienced execs. The Browns are currently guided by Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown (effectively the GM), Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, and Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry. None of those three have a track record of assembling a winning football team and DePodesta’s background is in a different sport entirely.
Browns To Start DeShone Kizer
DeShone Kizer‘s stint as the Browns’ No. 2 quarterback did not last long. The rookie has been reinstated as the team’s starting QB in advance of Sunday’s game against the Titans. The news was first reported by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). She says that Cleveland will “ride with [Kizer] as long as possible.” 
At the start of the season, coach Hue Jackson said the team would be patient with the rookie and allow him to remain the starter even if he struggled. Last week, after an 0-5 start, the Browns abandoned that plan and handed the reins over to Kevin Hogan. Unfortunately, Hogan did not fare well against Houston – he completed 20 of 37 passes for just 140 yards, with one touchdown and against three interceptions.
On the surface, it seems that the winless Browns wanted to find out whether they had a better win-now option in Hogan. However, many will surmise that the Browns benched Kizer last week in order to avoid a direct comparison between him and Deshaun Watson. Watson, like Carson Wentz last year, is showing real promise as a rookie and is looking like the one that got away for Cleveland. That’s a source of frustration for fans, team ownership, and Jackson, who reportedly pushed the team to take Watson.
Browns Targeting Front Office Personnel?
The Browns are now 0-6 and 1-21 since their current regime took over to start last season, and the franchise may be looking to shake things up. The Browns are reaching out to front office personnel with an emphasis on football executives, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Meanwhile, a Browns spokesman tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com that the report is “false and erroneous.” 
Currently, Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta are heading Cleveland’s front office. Neither has an extensive football background, with Brown having previously served as a lawyer before joining the Browns and later ascending to the executive VP job without a scouting background. DePodesta, of course, made his name as a baseball exec prior to becoming the Browns’ chief strategy officer. The Browns don’t have a GM.
It’s unclear what job(s) the team is targeting execs for, but it looks to be an attempt to infuse some football experience with personnel that have unorthodox backgrounds for an NFL front office.
The Browns have two games remaining until their Week 9 bye, making their post-London week a natural time to re-evaluate.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
49ers Agreed To Trade NaVorro Bowman To Saints
We learned last night that at least two teams had serious interest in trading for former 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman before he was released by San Francisco, and it turns out that one of those interested teams was the Saints. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports, the 49ers agreed to trade Bowman to New Orleans for a seventh-round draft pick, but the Saints learned the veteran linebacker preferred to be a free agent and talk to all teams before deciding on one. As such, the 49ers opted to grant Bowman’s wish and give him his release instead of going forward with the trade.
Schefter adds that San Francisco also engaged in trade talks with the Ravens, Browns, and Panthers, but none of those teams appear to be vying for Bowman’s services in free agency. Instead, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, there is strong mutual interest between Bowman and the Raiders, and Bowman appears set to visit Oakland in the coming days.
In related news, Schefter reports that the 49ers have not had any trade talks involving running back Carlos Hyde — despite speculation to the contrary — and they do not plan to have any such talks. We heard just last week, of course, that San Francisco was attempting to extend the oft-injured RB, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the year.
Browns Rumors: Jackson, Thomas, Collins
While questions about the effectiveness of the current Browns regime’s plan continue to emerge, there are NFL personnel who believe in what Cleveland’s trying to do. Some around the league remain bullish on the franchise’s strategy of stockpiling draft picks with the hope lapping the field in terms high-value selections can’t help but lead to a strong foundation, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes. Of course, the Browns benching their second-round rookie quarterback for a player who was on their practice squad a year ago in advance of a meeting with the surging Deshaun Watson doesn’t make for great optics. But Pelissero adds Jimmy Haslam, his history of impatience in this department notwithstanding, had to know this experiment wasn’t going to go well early. But the new regime’s 1-20 record piling up many more losses before picking up that second win still might mean trouble for either Hue Jackson or the Sashi Brown-led front office.
Here’s the latest out of Cleveland.
- One asset perpetually linked to a trade for draft picks figures to re-emerge in these discussions before the Halloween deadline. Joe Thomas is still playing at an All-Pro level in his 11th season, but with the Browns having done so much to acquire high draft picks, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if the team having once again fallen out of contention so soon would make a trade sensible. Thomas being on a team-friendly deal (a non-guaranteed salary of $8.8MM is attached to Thomas’ through-2018 contract) would stand to help in potential talks, and Browns management would seemingly be running out of time to cash in its top asset and grab another Day 2 pick (Thomas turns 33 in December). But Florio adds Thomas’ presence stands to help keep fans interested in the team, one that doesn’t look interested in competing for a playoff spot any time soon.
- Whether Kizer reclaims his job and fares better down the stretch or not, the Browns’ new-look front office is unlikely to let the rookie’s performance affect the strategy of gauging 2018 draft options, Bud Shaw of cleveland.com writes. The Browns passed on Watson in part because they wanted to be in a strong position to draft a possible higher-end quarterback prospect next year. Choosing Watson at No. 12 would have provided a stronger impediment toward doing that than taking one at No. 52, where Kizer was chosen.
- For the first time this season, the Browns will have their top two defensive investments on a game field together. Jamie Collins will return after missing three games due to a concussion, Dan Labbe of cleveland.com reports. It will mark the first time the outside linebacker and Myles Garrett will play together in a regular-season contest. Garrett registered two sacks in 19 snaps during his debut in Week 5.
Browns Eyed Trubisky, Mahomes, 2018 QBs Over Watson?
For the second straight year, the current Browns front office is set to observe the team face a rookie quarterback upon whom it passed in that year’s draft. After Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott faced the Browns last season, Deshaun Watson will match up against the team he was often linked to in the pre-draft process.
But the Browns evidently had a multi-layered thought process behind moving past Watson, with Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reporting the team had Mitch Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes and Watson as their top three quarterbacks and likely in that order.
The Browns also bypassed Watson with their No. 12 pick in order to pick up a future 2018 first-rounder — their second high-2018 draft choice acquired from the Texans this spring — because of what’s being viewed as a superior class of quarterbacks likely set to be draft-eligible, Cabot reports. With two first-round picks and three second-rounders next year, the Browns would like to be “well-positioned” to draft a quarterback in the event DeShone Kizer is not their long-term solution. Considering Kizer was just benched for what Cabot notes will likely be for at least three games through the team’s Week 9 bye, that clock is ticking.
Cleveland may well have taken Mahomes, who had a private workout with the Browns before visiting the team in April, had the Chiefs not traded up to No. 10 and selected him, Cabot notes. Kansas City’s brass obviously shared the Mahomes-over-Watson line of thinking. The longtime Browns reporter adds some in the front office did want to draft Trubisky No. 1 overall, leading to “heated debates” before Hue Jackson and Gregg Williams‘ preferred player, Myles Garrett, went to Cleveland at No. 1 overall.
Jackson declined to say this week if he advocated for Watson, who has accounted for 10 touchdowns the past two weeks. The second-year coach also declined to speculate whether coaching Watson in January would have endeared him more to the team.
The Browns not viewing Wentz or Watson as the kind of game-changer they coveted is being scrutinized now that Kizer has been benched for 2016 practice squad signee Kevin Hogan, who has outperformed the second-round pick when summoned this season.
Viewing this demotion as a “temporary timeout,” Jackson anticipates returning to Kizer this season. The Browns are planning to obtain more evidence he’s the future to determine if the Notre Dame product is worthy of bypassing a signal-caller with all five of their 2018 first- or second-round picks.
Browns Bench QB DeShone Kizer
The Browns are giving DeShone Kizer the hook. On Sunday, Kevin Hogan will get the start at quarterback when the Browns take on the Texans. 
“I’ve made the decision to start Kevin this week,” coach Hue Jackson said in a statement released by the team. “We’ve liked what Kevin has been able to do within our offense when he’s been in there and he will start on Sunday because that’s what we feel is best for our team at this point in time. This does not change the way we feel about DeShone going forward. He has worked extremely hard and still very much has a bright future. Right now, it’s better for him and his development to back up Kevin.”
The 0-5 Browns have apparently seen enough of Kizer for now, which is understandable but also contradicts their words earlier this year. Jackson said the team would be patient with Kizer and stick with him regardless of road bumps. Desperate for their first win, the Browns have made Hogan their 28th starting quarterback since reentering the league in 1999. Going back to 2008 alone, the Browns have now gone through 19 starting QBs. As Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com notes (Twitter link), that’s five more than the rest of the AFC North combined over that same period: Steelers (six), Ravens (four), and Bengals (four).
The Browns are saying all of the right things about Kizer, but their search for a franchise QB seems likely to continue this spring.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/10/17
Today’s practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: C Derrick Nelson, DT Kapron Lewis-Moore
- Released: TE Ryan Malleck, S Ronald Martin
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Ryan O’Malley, C Adam Redmond
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Matt Lengel
- Released: TE J.P. Holtz
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Cole Toner
- Released: QB Taylor Heinicke, G Jason King
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT Woodrow Hamilton, LB Shayne Skov
- Released: CB Bradley Sylve
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Ethan Cooper, WR Kalif Raymond
- Released: OL Anthony Fabiano
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Jahad Thomas
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: LB Deontae Skinner
- Released: LB Boseko Lokombo
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DE Alex McCalister
- Released: WR Rashard Davis
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: DE Noble Nwachukwu
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DE Larry Webster
- Released: FB Austin Johnson
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/10/17
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LS Justin Drescher
- Placed on injured reserve: LS Aaron Brewer
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted to active roster: DT Taniela Tupou
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR: T Matt McCants
Houston Texans
- Claimed off waivers: CB Marcus Williams
- Released: CB Johnthan Banks, T Jah Reid
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released from IR: CB Josh Johnson
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: LB Gabe Martin
New York Giants
- Promoted to active roster: WR Ed Eagan
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: CB Demetrius McCray
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: CB Asa Jackson