BEREA, Ohio _ Rookie DeShone Kizer is determined to make the most of his situation, but he also can't hide his disappointment about being demoted.
"Nothing makes this easier," Kizer said Wednesday.
Coach Hue Jackson announced that Kevin Hogan will start at quarterback for the Browns (0-5) on Sunday when they visit the Houston Texans (2-3) while Kizer serves as the backup. The hope is Kizer will be able to learn and regroup mentally after struggling. Meanwhile, Hogan will become the 28th starting quarterback for the Browns since their rebirth in 1999.
Jackson said Hogan gives the offense the best chance to stay in rhythm and perform consistently right now. The coach wouldn't commit to Hogan starting beyond this weekend. Jackson said he knew there was a chance Kizer would need a break and he "sure would hope" to start the second-round draft pick from Notre Dame again this season.
"When you are not the starting quarterback for the first time after winning the job, you are disappointed. At the same time, he understands," Jackson said. "I don't sugarcoat things with our players. I tell them exactly what it is, what we need to do, what we need to get better at and where we stand. I will say it again, DeShone Kizer has a huge future here with the Cleveland Browns. He needs to continue to grow and continue to get better, and he will. There is no question in my mind that he will, but right now, I think this is what is best for our football team."
Turnovers have haunted Kizer more than anything through his first five games. His misfired pitch to running back Isaiah Crowell resulted in a lost fumble and his pass intended for tight end Seth DeValve in the front of the end zone was intercepted in the first half of Sunday's 17-14 loss to the New York Jets.
Jackson benched Kizer at halftime, and Hogan's 21-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end David Njoku put the Browns ahead 10-7 with 9:23 left in the third quarter. It was the first time all season the Browns have held a lead.
Now Kizer is in the back seat, and Hogan has the keys.
"I don't play this game to sit on the bench," Kizer, 21, said. "So now it's about accepting this as a challenge and doing whatever I can to get back out there and be the best quarterback and the best version of myself I can be when I do get back out there."
Named the starter Aug. 27, Kizer has completed 81-of-159 passes (an NFL-worst 50.9 percent) for 851 yards and three touchdowns with a league-high nine interceptions for a league-low rating of 49.5. He has taken 12 sacks, rushed 28 times for 126 yards (4.5 average) and two touchdowns and fumbled three times with two lost. He has committed five turnovers in the red zone _ four interceptions and a fumble.
"He has thick skin," Texans wide receiver Will Fuller, Kizer's teammate in college, said during a conference call. "I noticed it at Notre Dame. I feel like he will bounce back."
On the other hand, Hogan has made a compelling case to play more. In roughly three quarters of backup duty this season, he has helped the Browns score 31 of their 77 points. A fifth-round pick of Kansas City last year who joined the Browns practice squad on Sept. 5, 2016, after the Chiefs cut him, Hogan has completed 26-of-38 passes (68.4 percent) this season for 377 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions for a rating of 104.8. He has taken two sacks and rushed five times for 35 yards (7.0 average).
As Hogan attempts to seize his opportunity, Kizer will try to gain valuable perspective.
"When you're on the sideline, you get a different angle, and that angle definitely changes your mind of how the play's going," Kizer said. "When you're out there, things are flying so fast when you're playing and you see things, but on the sideline, you get a wider vision of what's actually going on."
Kizer's trip to the bench points to Jackson feeling as if he's on the hot seat and desperately needs to win. The Browns are 1-20 under his guidance.
"As a head coach in the NFL, you know your life span's not too long if you don't win games, and he's been stressing since day one that he wants to win," left guard Joel Bitonio said. "So I think his decision-making goes into who he thinks is going to help us win the most games."
Jackson's decision also raises questions about whether Kizer will ever be able to solidify himself as a long-term starter with the Browns. They have two picks in the first round and three in the second round next year, and unless Kizer has a dramatic turnaround when he plays again, it would be hard to envision the franchise passing on a quarterback early in 2018.
"I don't think that this is the best version of DeShone that you guys have seen," Jackson said. "I think he has work to do, but I think we all have work to do. It is not just him. Everybody has to do their part in order for the quarterback to win in the National Football League, but he also has some growth over the next several weeks that he needs to take care of.
"I feel good about him. I am never going to run from that because I think the guy has talent and ability. Now, can he make the next jump? We are going to see that in time. He has to be able to do that."
Kizer insisted his belief he can become the team's quarterback of the future hasn't been shaken. He thought the game had been slowing down for him and he had been improving each week.
"It's just going to take a little longer before I get back out there, which just gives me more opportunity to become the best quarterback in this league," Kizer said.
"I'm still learning, I'm still growing and I felt as if I was still on the upward trend before this decision was made."
Kizer also said his faith in Jackson hasn't dwindled. When the coach named Kizer the starter after the third preseason game, he vowed to stick with the quarterback through the inevitable growing pains he would experience.
"The plan was for me to be the starter all year," Kizer said. "Yeah, it took an adjustment, but there's a lot of thought that goes into a situation like this, and I completely trust in the process that he has set up for me.
"He's completely riding with me still. He's just going to ride with me from a new angle, and he felt like this offense needed a spark and that they're going to get that with Kevin."
What's especially painful for long-suffering Browns fans is Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson has already provided his team with a spark.
"DeShone Kizer is on our team. Deshaun Watson is on their team," Jackson said, sidestepping questions about whether he advocated for picking Watson. "We can't all of a sudden flip them, so why are we having this discussion?"
The Browns could have drafted Watson 12th overall April 27, but they traded the pick to the Texans. The Browns received the 25th selection, which they used on safety Jabrill Peppers, and a first-round choice next year. The Texans chose Watson, the national champion from Clemson who has thrown 12 touchdown passes and four interceptions this season.
"That game that he's brought in his first few weeks of him starting is exactly what I was attempting to do myself, and I believe that I was headed in that direction," said Kizer, who considers Watson a good friend. "... Now it's about doing whatever I can to get to the level that he's been able to perform at."
Of course, with Fuller and fellow receiver DeAndre Hopkins at his disposal, Watson has a better supporting cast than Kizer.
"His situation was very optimal for him to go in with a very good defense and a lot of talent around him, and I believe that my situation was very optimal for me to really figure out myself," Kizer said. "This is going to be hopefully a very long career in this league, and I look forward to learning from these different experiences I have here. And as the guys develop around me, I'm sure this offense is going to be very good one day."
Only if the quarterback can be very good, too.
