BEREA, Ohio _ Let the DeShone Kizer era begin.
On Wednesday morning, the Browns announced Kizer will be their starting quarterback for the third preseason game Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Browns coach Hue Jackson said Aug. 16 whichever quarterback starts the third exhibition game will have a "very good chance" to start the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In a statement Wednesday, Jackson added Kizer "is certainly positioning himself well to earn the starting job heading into the regular season." Jackson explained in recent days he would name a starter for the season opener Wednesday, but he stopped short.
"This morning, I informed our quarterbacks that DeShone will be our starter for the third preseason game against Tampa," Jackson said in the statement. "He has made a lot of progress by investing the time necessary to learn our offense, working hard to improve on his fundamentals while also effectively moving the offense in preseason games. Development is so important for a young quarterback, this is the next step he needs to take and he deserves this opportunity. We are very excited about seeing DeShone in the role of starter for this week, as he is certainly positioning himself well to earn the starting job heading into the regular season.
"Much like DeShone, Brock, Cody (Kessler) and Kevin (Hogan) have worked extremely hard throughout training camp and have helped create a very supportive environment in our quarterback room. They've pushed each other, worked well together and we expect that to continue."
A rookie second-round draft pick from Notre Dame, Kizer received the nod over Brock Osweiler for the "dress rehearsal" game in Tampa, Fla., and is in line to become the Browns' 27th starting quarterback since 1999. If all goes well for Kizer, he would also become the team's 15th Week 1 starter in the expansion era and the fourth in as many years. Brandon Weeden is the last quarterback to start consecutive openers (2012-13) for the Browns, and he was the only rookie QB to start the first game of the season for them since their rebirth. Kizer would be the second.
"As awesome as it is, it just means I have to work harder and try to do whatever I can to continue to have success out on the field and hold onto this position as tight as I can," Kizer said before Wednesday's practice.
"For me, the biggest thing is to continue to build off what I've been doing, continue to become more comfortable and more confident and let it rip.
"I understand that responsibility (that comes with starting), and I can't wait to go out there and continue to prove to my teammates and this coaching staff that I can continue to have success and put us in position to win games."
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Osweiler isn't expected to play Saturday. Osweiler declined to confirm or deny the report when he spoke before Wednesday's practice and insisted he believes he still has an opportunity with the Browns, who remain open to trading him.
"Until we have an official day one starter, I feel like I have a great opportunity here," Osweiler said. "Like I've told you guys all along, I love being a Cleveland Brown. I think this is a great organization. I think we have a tremendous head coach. I love playing football for coach Jackson and (David) Lee, our quarterback coach. I love those two coaches. I really do. So as far as I know, it's still wide open, but I'm given the same information you guys are."
Kizer, 21, is the most talented quarterback on the roster and has performed the best so far in the preseason.
Jackson and Lee have repeatedly said Kizer isn't ready to start, but apparently they believe he has improved enough to deserve a shot over a much more experienced Osweiler, 26, whose record as an NFL starter is 13-8 in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs.
"This time, Coach Jackson felt I was ready," Kizer said. "This is an opportunity I've been working very hard at, and now it's about whatever I can do to go out there and continue to have success I've had in the last two games.
"As a competitor, you always think that you're ready to be out there. Once I was able to understand the offense and once I was able to get some first-team reps out here in practice and play against our first-team defense, that confidence has been building throughout all of training camp."
Just last week, 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas said Kizer wasn't ready to start and predicted Osweiler would win the job. Now Kizer is in the driver's seat to become the 19th quarterback to start for the Browns during Thomas' tenure.
"There's a lot to show Joe Thomas," Kizer said. "That guy's seen quite a few quarterbacks obviously, and my ultimate goal is for him to not see another one. And in order to do that, I've got to continue to show him the type of worker that I am and how much time I'm putting in off the field in my preparation and making sure he can go out and get the wins that he absolutely deserves."
Osweiler started the first two preseason games, played six series and completed 12-of-22 passes (54.5 percent) for 67 yards with an interception and a rating of 41.3 to go along with two carries for 16 yards and zero sacks taken. He has yet to produce points, a fact he called a disappointment.
Yet Osweiler explained he believes all four quarterbacks received a fair shot in the position battle, and there's nothing else he can do to improve his chances at this point.
"I don't think so," Osweiler said. "I have no regret on anything that's taken place since I've been here. I truly believe I've laid everything out there on the table. I'm very proud of what I was able to show my teammates and the coaching staff throughout OTAs going back to day one when we were just given the playbook and how I mastered that. So there's no regret on anything and I don't think there's anything else I need to do. They know the quarterback and the teammate that I am."
Osweiler was asked what needs to happen for him to win the job for the regular season. "I think that's a great question for a general manager," he replied, referring to head of football operations Sashi Brown.
As for Kizer, he has played nine series this preseason, excluding a kneel down at the end of a game. He has gone 19-of-31 passing (61.3 percent) for 258 yards and a touchdown without an interception, posting a rating of 98.6 to go along with eight carries for 47 yards and a touchdown and five sacks taken. He has led three touchdown drives and set up a field goal, albeit against mostly backup defenders.
"Obviously, I've been building some confidence the last couple weeks," Kizer said.
Kessler entered training camp first in the quarterback rotation, but he faltered and descended to third in the order.
Jackson promoted Osweiler to the lead position Aug. 7, three days before the Browns defeated the New Orleans Saints 20-14 in the preseason opener.
But it was Kizer, not Osweiler, who had the brightest moments in the first exhibition game.
Osweiler and the starting offense failed to gain a first down in the opening quarter and didn't produce any points in four series. He went 6-of-14 passing for 42 yards with a rating of 50.3.
Then Kizer played the entire second half, throwing a 52-yard pass to set up a 1-yard touchdown run with 12:19 left in the fourth quarter and the 45-yard, game-winning touchdown pass with 1:52 remaining while facing third- and fourth-string defenders. He finished 11-of-18 passing for 184 yards and a touchdown, ran for 12 yards on three carries, took three sacks and posted a rating of 114.1.
When practice resumed, Kizer began splitting first-team repetitions with Osweiler like he had done with Kessler earlier in training camp. Yet Jackson stuck with Osweiler as the starter for the second preseason game, a 10-6 victory against the New York Giants on Monday night.
Playing two series, Osweiler went 6-of-8 passing for 25 yards with an interception and a rating of 38. He ran once for 6 yards. The starting offense didn't produce any points under his command.
Kizer entered the game with 2:50 left in the first quarter and played four series, facing mostly starters during the first two and mostly backups on the last two. He led a 28-yard touchdown drive after a turnover and later set up a field goal. He completed 8-of-13 passes for 74 yards, took two sacks and finished with a rating of 77.1. He ran five times for 35 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak with 1:10 left in the second quarter.
As long as Kizer holds onto the starting job, Osweiler will need to wait for a chance to redeem himself after proving to be a free-agency bust last year with the Houston Texans, who signed him to a four-year, $72 million contract.
"I want to prove that I'm a better player than I showed at times last year," Osweiler said. "I want to show that I'm an improved player. I'm still a very young, young quarterback in this league. ... I still think I have a lot to bring to the table, and I'm very eager to show people that."
Osweiler went 5-2 in 2015 with the Denver Broncos in relief of an injured Peyton Manning. In Houston, he clashed with Texans coach Bill O'Brien, went 8-6 in the regular season and found himself on the bench before going 1-1 in the postseason.
The Browns traded for Osweiler on March 9, but they made the deal because they wanted the Texans' 2018 second-round pick, not Osweiler. The Texans were desperate to remove Osweiler's guaranteed salary of $16 million from their books. When the Browns executed the trade, they didn't expect Osweiler to become a factor for them, let alone their starter, and there's certainly no guarantee they'll keep him as a highly paid backup.
Asked if he's of the mindset to request a trade, Osweiler said, "That's something I'm going to stay away from. I'm always going to just focus on the things I can control, and right now, that's being a great teammate, that's continuing to prepare, be a pro, stay in the playbook and just continue to strive to be a better player every single day."
Regardless, what's most important now is Kizer is the starter, and he's the overwhelming favorite to own the job when the real games begin.
