Browns To Name DeShone Kizer Starting QB
The Browns will name DeShone Kizer their starting quarterback following his performance in last night’s preseason game against the Buccaneers, sources tell Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. An official announcement is expected later today.
Kizer’s numbers against the Buccaneers certainly weren’t very impressive, as the second-round rookie complete only 6-of-18 pass attempts for 93 yards and one interception. But that was apparently enough for Kizer to earn Cleveland’s starting role over veteran Brock Osweiler, as head coach Hue Jackson said he was “comfortable” with Kizer following Saturday’s contest. On the whole, Kizer has attempted 49 passes during the preseason, completing 51% for 351 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
With Kizer under center, Cleveland will likely continue shopping Osweiler, whom it originally acquired from the Texans in a contract dump earlier this year. The Browns’ attempts to trade Osweiler are nothing news, as the club has reportedly been doing so ever since picking him up from Houston. But given that Osweiler is due a fully guaranteed $16MM salary in 2017, the Browns will need to eat some of that total in order to find a trade partner.
Cleveland’s quarterback depth chart machinations may not stop at the top, per Cabot, who reports the Browns may demote Cody Kessler to fourth-string behind Kevin Hogan. The regular season effects of such a move would be unclear for Kessler, who started eight games as a rookie in 2016.
Latest On Browns WR Josh Gordon
It’s not clear when or if we’ll see Josh Gordon on an NFL field again, but things are at least moving in the right direction. The Browns wide receiver went to rehab two months ago in cooperation with the NFL in hopes of being reinstated in late September, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears. 
[RELATED: Browns Shopping QB Brock Osweiler]
Gordon’s name was in the news a couple of weeks ago when commissioner Roger Goodell said that Gordon’s reinstatement “was not under active consideration.” However, that was much ado about nothing since Gordon had already been told in May that he could not apply for reinstatement until the fall.
Top Browns executive Sashi Brown says the club is open to a Gordon return, but it has been reported that the team will trade or release him if/when he is allowed to play again. If he’s reinstated and put on the block, you can expect him to draw considerable interest from teams, despite all of his baggage.
In 2013, Gordon’s last full season, he had 87 catches, a league-leading 1,646 yards, and nine touchdowns in 14 games. He was also productive in his suspension-shortened 2014 season, catching 24 passes for 303 yards.
Latest On Brock Osweiler
- With DeShone Kizer likely to open the season as the Browns’ starting quarterback, the probable runner-up in the competition, Brock Osweiler, is now on the trade block. The problem is that the Browns are unlikely to find a taker for him, even though they’re willing to eat around $10MM of his $16MM salary if the right offer comes along, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. The Browns wanted at least a third-round pick for Osweiler when they were shopping him in March, according to Cabot, which is a preposterous asking price when you consider the struggles he had in Houston last season. While Cleveland did give up a fourth-rounder to acquire Osweiler from the Texans, it also received a second- and sixth-rounder just to take on his bloated contract. Regarding the possibility of the Browns flipping the 26-year-old before Week 1, an NFL personnel executive told Cabot, “Good luck with that.”
Browns Sign Christian Bryant
Cleveland Browns
Browns Shopping QB Brock Osweiler
The Browns will not play Brock Osweiler in Saturday’s preseason game, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Browns are looking to trade him, but that is nothing new, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter) hears. The Browns have been making calls about Osweiler throughout camp, according to sources.
[RELATED: Kizer To Start On Saturday Vs. Bucs]
Reviews of Osweiler have generally been positive this summer, but rookie DeShone Kizer has also impressed in practice. On Wednesday morning, we learned that Kizer will be starting on Saturday against the Buccaneers. It was assumed that Osweiler would be the QB2 for that third preseason game, but we now know that he won’t be suiting up at all.
The Jaguars are among the teams that could use a veteran signal caller like Osweiler given the way that Blake Bortles has struggled. The Ravens, who have been in the hunt for an upgrade over backup Ryan Mallett, could also consider a QB like him.
It doesn’t sound like the Browns are hellbent on trading Osweiler and they are indicating that he could still win the starting job between now and Week 1. Even if he doesn’t beat out Kizer, he could be a valuable reserve. If possible, however, one has to imagine that the Browns would like to move Osweiler and get some of his $16MM salary off of the books.
Osweiler came to Cleveland in a deal that was largely unprecedented for the NFL. The Browns received a 2018 second-round pick and a sixth-round pick in exchange for the QB (and his exorbitant salary) and a fourth-round choice.
Kizer In Lead For Browns' QB Job
Browns coach Hue Jackson announced that DeShone Kizer will start the team’s third preseason game against Tampa Bay. This as a sign that Kizer is in the lead for the Browns’ starting QB job, despite talk of Brock Osweiler being in the catbird seat this summer.
In two preseason games, the Notre Dame product has completed 19-of-31 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown. Kizer also added 47 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. The Browns’ season begins on Sept. 10 when they face the Steelers in Cleveland.
Browns Sign DT Brandon Thompson
The Browns have already found a replacement for Desmond Bryant, as Cleveland announced that they’ve signed fellow defensive tackle Brandon Thompson.
While Thompson doesn’t offer the experience or history of production of Bryant, he is roughly four years younger (age-27) than his defensive line counterpart. Having just been released by the Bengals on Monday, Thompson also presumably has some level of familiarity with Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson, who was previously Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator.
A former third-round selection, Thompson never broke into the starting lineup for the Bengals during his five-year run with the club (with the exception of 2013, when he started seven contests after Geno Atkins went down with injury). Still, he was a serviceable reserve, appearing in 39 games and and posting three sacks from 2012-15. Thompson didn’t see the field in 2016 after suffering a torn ACL the previous December.
Thompson should have an opportunity to earn playing time in the place of Bryant, but he’ll have to compete with several other players. Trevon Coley, Jamie Meder, Xavier Cooper, and rookies Caleb Brantley and Larry Ogunjobi are among the interior defenders who could see action alongside nose tackle Danny Shelton during the upcoming campaign.
Browns To Release DL Desmond Bryant
The Browns have released defensive lineman Desmond Bryant, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).
Bryant, 31, didn’t see the field in 2016 after suffering a torn pectoral during the summer. He’d been a decently productive player in the three prior campaigns, however, averaging 14 games and five sacks per year for the Cleveland. All told, Bryant — who began his career with Oakland — has appeared in 104 NFL contests and made 59 starts.
Bryant was midway through a five-year, $34MM deal with the Browns when he went down last July, and because the injury occurred while Bryant was working on his own (and not with the club), Cleveland placed him on the non-football injury list. Technically, the Browns weren’t required to pay Bryant for the 2016 season, and the two sides ultimately agreed to a salary reduction from $6MM to just $1.25MM.
This time around, Cleveland didn’t ask Bryant to take a pay cut before releasing him, tweets Florio. Bryant, who finally returned to the practice field in June, had been scheduled to count for $4MM on the Browns’ 2017 salary cap. By releasing Bryant, Cleveland will now save all but $1MM of that total.
With Bryant no longer on the roster, the Browns have several options to turn to along the defensive line. Danny Shelton is a starter at one spot on the interior, but players such as Trevon Coley, Jamie Meder, Xavier Cooper, or rookies Caleb Brantley and Larry Ogunjobi could now see increased playing time.
For his part, Bryant now becomes one of the more intriguing free agents on the defensive line market. Given that he can theoretically play either end or tackle, Bryant could interest a number of clubs and contribute in a variety of schemes. He joins a list of available defensive linemen that also includes Jared Odrick, Dan Williams, Tyson Jackson, and Sen’Derrick Marks.
Browns To Name Starting QB On Wednesday
The Browns are expected to name their starting quarterback on Wednesday, as head coach Hue Jackson announced to reporters following the conclusion of Cleveland’s preseason game on Monday night.
“I need to watch the tape and honestly answer [who will start], but I have an idea in my mind based on what I felt and what I saw from our football team,” said Jackson. “We will just kind of go from there.”
The club’s competition appears to be between Brock Osweiler, whom the Browns acquired from the Texans earlier this year, and second-round rookie DeShone Kizer. Jackson reportedly questioned Cleveland veterans as to who should earn the starting job, and the majority of players chose Osweiler, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Cody Kessler, who started eight games as a rookie in 2016, doesn’t appear to be in the running for the starting role, as he didn’t enter last night’s contest until the third quarter was nearly finished.
While Osweiler may have the support of the Browns’ locker room, Kizer has clearly been the better passer through two preseason games. According to Pro Football Focus (Twitter link), Kizer leads Osweiler in adjusted completion percentage (74.1% vs. 60%), passer rating against pressure (109.5 vs. 39.6), and average depth of throw (10.2 vs. 7.7). Still, Cleveland quarterbacks coach David Lee said earlier this month that Kizer is “still not there,” an indication the Notre Dame product may need more seasoning before playing in the regular season.
Browns LB Tank Carder Out For Season
Bad news for the Browns. Linebacker Tank Carder will not be able to play in 2017 thanks to an ACL tear, coach Hue Jackson tells reporters. 
Carder, 28, has appeared in all but two of the Browns’ regular season games since 2012. Although he saw time in just 56 defensive snaps this year, he was projected to start at middle linebacker for Cleveland this season.
The Browns will still have standouts Jamie Collins and Christian Kirksey to start at linebacker, but the team now has a void to address in the middle. Reserves Dominique Alexander and James Burgess may get a crack at the job, unless the team wants to do some reshuffling to put Collins or Kirksey at MLB. Joe Schobert, former second-round pick Nate Orchard, and Cam Johnson are among the team’s reserves at OLB.