The Cleveland Browns could be on the verge of naming DeShone Kizer the team’s starting quarterback. He will start Saturday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and likely play a vast majority of the game. Meanwhile, struggling veteran Brock Osweiler will sit the game out altogether.
It comes after weeks of speculation that Osweiler himself had the lead in the quarterback competition. It also comes after the first two preseason games, both of which saw Kizer impress and Osweiler flop.
Now comes this report from NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero indicating that the Browns are still actively looking to trade Osweiler.
#Browns continued to make calls about trading Brock Osweiler before and after start of training camp, per sources. Keeping options open.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 23, 2017
Cleveland attempted to trade Osweiler immediately after it acquired him from the Houston Texans during the spring. But his on-field struggles coupled with a $16 million salary for this season made that a hard sell to other teams.
Though, the market for quarterbacks might have changed since then. The Indianapolis Colts come to mind first.
Watch Osweiler to the Colts.
— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) August 23, 2017
There’s still no timeline for Andrew Luck’s return from off-season shoulder surgery, and things are looking ominous on that front.
Sure Osweiler has been downright disastrous during the preseason, but the same can be said for multiple starting quarterbacks around the NFL.
Should the Browns decide to hand the keys to the kingdom over to Kizer, it would not be a surprise to see the team trade or release Osweiler. If so, the Colts might very well decide Osweiler is a better short-term option than Scott Tolzien.