Browns announce Brock Osweiler will not play in third preseason game

There are few things stranger in the NFL than Cleveland’s quarterback room. Two days after Brock Osweiler was thought to be Cleveland’s starter for the regular season, the team announced that the embattled quarterback will not play in the third preseason game. That honor will go to rookie DeShone Kizer. Typically the quarterback that starts the third preseason game is the regular season starter.

Hue Jackson corroborated that notion to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.

“This morning, I informed our quarterbacks that DeShone will be our starter for the third preseason game against Tampa,” Jackson said in a statement. “He’s 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.

Osweiler had started the first preseason, and was reportedly the locker room pick. He was thought to have had a legitimate chance to wrap up the job Monday night when he started again, this time against the Giants. But on the opening drive Osweiler threw an ugly interception on a short tipped pass that needed far more zip. He was otherwise efficient, but outplayed by Kizer who displayed more versatility and threw the Browns’ only touchdown of the game.

Adding to the intrigue, the Browns have been trying to trade Osweiler all along, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. After acquiring Osweiler via trade, the Browns immediately tried to trade him, even if it meant eating part of his massive $16 million salary.

We are talking about Cleveland so who knows what happens but we are in full agreement with SI’s Chris Burke.

I’d pay more money to listen in on a Brock Osweiler trade call than I would for Mayweather-McGregor.

— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) August 23, 2017