The quarterback carousel is spinning quickly for the Cleveland Browns. One week after a disastrous performance from Kevin Hogan, the team is turning back to DeShone Kizer.
Browns head coach Hue Jackson announced the decision Wednesday, according to the team’s official site. He called the one-week benching a “good experience” for Kizer.
A roller-coaster rookie campaign continues.
Kizer entered the preseason as a backup. However, he earned the Week 1 starting job and opened each of Cleveland’s first five games but was benched twice and left another contest due to injury.
Then, two weeks after Jackson expressed “full confidence” in the rookie, the second-year coach replaced Kizer with Hogan. He proceeded to throw three interceptions, completing 20-of-37 passes for 140 yards — a horrendous 3.6 yards per attempt.
And so, the winless Browns have returned to Kizer.
Should they expect a rapid turnaround? No. The second-round pick is averaging just 5.4 yards per attempt, which is ranked 31st among 32 qualified quarterbacks. Only Jay Cutler has been worse, but the Miami Dolphins gunslinger only has four interceptions compared to Kizer’s league-leading nine.
However, switching back to Kizer is the right choice for a troubled organization. Given the certainty of a bad record, the Browns will once again discuss whether to draft a quarterback early. They need to figure out if Kizer is simply a rookie pushed into a challenging spot or is completely overwhelmed by the speed of the NFL.
For better or worse, Jackson needs to stick with Kizer and remove the threat of being benched mid-game. Whether he steadily shows progression should determine if the Browns add another name to their quarterback carousel via the 2018 NFL draft.