DeShone Kizer will surely see his fair share of struggles during his rookie campaign, similar to his four-turnover performance last weekend. However, the Browns are seemingly willing to be patient with their signal-caller, and this sentiment was emphasized by head coach Hue Jackson.
“He’s playing with a bunch of men,” said Jackson (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). “He’s 21 years old. He’s leading an organization that hasn’t been what it needs to be. He’s surrounded by a ton of guys who, we haven’t won a ton of games, and he’s trying to uplift everything. There’s a lot of pressure. Let’s just be honest — it is.”
In two NFL starts, Kizer has completed 57.4-percent of his passes for 404 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions. He’s also collected 43 rushing yards and one touchdown on 10 attempts.
“Like many rookies, I can name many guys in this league who have thrown three interceptions in a game, four interceptions in a game and came back the next week and played their tails off,” Jackson said. “That’s going to happen. I don’t like it. Nobody does. But hopefully he will keep growing from it and keep getting better.”
Let’s check out some more notes from around the AFC…
- Texans left tackle Duane Brown is the lone veteran to continue his hold out into the regular season. Former NFL agent Joel Corry notes that his team could certainly use some reinforcement on the offensive line, although precedent says Brown won’t receive his desired contract. Not only is the organization reluctant to hand out extensions during the regular season, but they also don’t want to find themselves in similar situations in the future. Ultimately, Corry believes there’s little incentive for Brown to sit out the entire regular season, so he ultimately thinks the Texans will win the stalemate.
- The cash-strapped Ravens cleared $2.66MM in cap space today, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). The organization converted Tony Jefferson‘s $1.96MM salary and Justin Tucker‘s $1.79MM salary into signing bonuses, leading to the additional cap space.
- Could the Colts be eyeing a coaching change if they fall to 0-3 this weekend? ESPN.com’s Mike Wells isn’t sure, although he says a loss to the lowly Browns wouldn’t be a good look for head coach Chuck Pagano. For what it’s worth, owner Jim Irsay has never fired a coach during the regular season, and Pagano can use the excuse that he’s been without his franchise quarterback in Andrew Luck. However, if the team doesn’t put up a fight at home, Wells believes the hot seat will certainly get warmer.
- Impending free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler has struggled through the Patriots‘ first two games, writes CSNNE.com’s Mike Giardi. In fact, the coaching staff knocked the former Super Bowl hero out of the starting lineup last weekend, replacing him with Eric Rowe. Trade rumors surrounded Butler throughout the offseason, and he watched as the team handed a hefty payday to a cornerback from another organization (Stephon Gilmore). While Butler presumably isn’t happy with his current situation, the writer believes it’s up to the player to turn his season around.