_crop.jpg) Kizer with theCleveland Browns in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7, 9 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1996-01-03)January 3, 1996 (age 29) Toledo, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Central Catholic (Toledo) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College | Notre Dame (2014–2016) | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2017: 2nd round, 52nd overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
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DeShone Allen Kizer (/ˈkaɪzər/; born January 3, 1996) is an American former professionalfootballquarterback who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He playedcollege football for theNotre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by theCleveland Browns in the second round of the2017 NFL draft. Kizer served as the Browns' starter during his rookie season, but his tenure lasted only one year after going winless and leading the league in interceptions. Kizer spent his last three seasons as a backup for theGreen Bay Packers,Las Vegas Raiders, andTennessee Titans.
Kizer attendedCentral Catholic High School inToledo, Ohio.[1] He was named theAssociated Press Ohio Division III co-offensive player of the year as a senior in 2013.[2] A three-year starter, Kizer helped lead the Fighting Irishhigh school football team to a combined 34–6 overall record in 2011–13 (8–2 in playoff games), including a 14–1 record and Ohio Division II state title in 2012.[3]
In his career, Kizer's totals included 5,684 passing yards and 56touchdowns to go with 1,211 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.[4]
Considered a four-star recruit byRivals.com, Kizer was rated as the ninth bestdual-threat quarterback prospect of his class.[5] On June 11, 2013, Kizer announced his commitment to playcollege football at theUniversity of Notre Dame for theFighting Irish.[6]
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeShone Kizer Dual-Threat QB | Toledo, OH | Central Catholic HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 233 lb (106 kg) | Jun 11, 2013 | |
Recruit ratings:Scout:  Rivals: (80) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: 17 (QB), 2 (regional), 1 (OH), 263 (national) Rivals: 9 (QB) ESPN: 16 (QB), 12 (OH) | ||||||
Sources:
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Kizer redshirted his first year at Notre Dame in 2014 behind quarterbacksEverett Golson andMalik Zaire.[7]
Kizer started 2015 as a backup to Zaire. On September 5, during the season opener, Kizer made his collegiate debut againstTexas in relief of Zaire in the 38–3 victory.[8] During the second game of the season againstVirginia, Kizer replaced an injured Zaire and helped lead Notre Dame to a victory. With 12 seconds left, Kizer completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to wide receiverWill Fuller to give Notre Dame the lead.[9] After it was announced that Zaire would miss the rest of the season, Kizer was named the starter. On October 3, in a narrow 24–22 loss toClemson, he passed for a season-high 321 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception while having 15 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown.[10] On Halloween, in a 24–20 victory overTemple, Kizer recorded 299 passing yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions, and had a stellar night on the ground, rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns.[11] In the next game againstPitt, Kizer accounted for all six touchdowns (five passing and one rushing) helping Notre Dame to a 42–30 victory.[12]
Kizer and the Fighting Irish finished the 2015 regular season with a 10–2 record.[13] On New Year's Day, the Fighting Irish closed out their 2015 season with a 44–28 loss toOhio State in theFiesta Bowl. In the loss, Kizer had 284 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception to go along with 21 rushing yards and a touchdown.[14] Overall, Kizer finished hisredshirt first year with 2,880 passing yards, 525 rushing yards, and 31 total touchdowns in 13 games.[15]
Kizer started the 2016 season with 215 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, 77 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown in a double overtime 50–47 loss toTexas atDarrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.[16] After a victory overNevada, he had 344 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with 14 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 36–28 loss toMichigan State.[17][18] After a loss toDuke, Kizer had a career day through the air with 471 yards and three touchdowns in a 50–33 victory overSyracuse.[19] He put together some solid performances over the rest of the season, but the team faltered and ended up with a 4–8 record.[20] Kizer played 12 games with 2,925 passing yards, 472 rushing yards, and 34 total touchdowns.[21]
After the 2016 season, Kizer decided to forgo the remaining two years of eligibility and enter the2017 NFL draft.[22]
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | Redshirt | |||||||||||||||
| 2015 | 13 | 11 | 210 | 334 | 62.9 | 2,880 | 8.6 | 81 | 21 | 10 | 150.1 | 135 | 525 | 3.9 | 79 | 10 | 5 | 2 |
| 2016 | 12 | 12 | 212 | 361 | 58.7 | 2,925 | 8.1 | 79 | 26 | 9 | 145.6 | 129 | 472 | 3.7 | 70 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 25 | 23 | 422 | 695 | 60.7 | 5,805 | 8.4 | 81 | 47 | 19 | 147.7 | 264 | 997 | 3.8 | 79 | 18 | 5 | 2 |
Kizer received an invitation to theNFL Combine and completed all of the combine drills except for thebench press. He also performed positional drills, but had a disappointing performance. Kizer also participated at Notre Dame'sPro Day and only ran positional drills in front of team scouts and representatives, includingSan Francisco 49ers general managerJohn Lynch andPittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinatorTodd Haley. Kizer completed 50-of-60 passes and showed significantly better accuracy and footwork at his pro day.[23] NFL draft experts and analysts projected Kizer to be a first or second round pick.[24] He was ranked the second best quarterback in the draft by NFL analystBucky Brooks, the third best quarterback by NFLDraftScout.com andSports Illustrated, and was ranked the fourth best quarterback by NFL Network analystMike Mayock.[25][26][27][28]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Wonderlic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft4+1⁄4 in (1.94 m) | 233 lb (106 kg) | 33+1⁄8 in (0.84 m) | 9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) | 4.83 s | 1.72 s | 2.84 s | 4.53 s | 7.40 s | 30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) | 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m) | 28[29] | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[24][23] | ||||||||||||
TheCleveland Browns selected Kizer in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.[30] He was the fourth quarterback selected and first taken in the second round.[31]
On June 14, 2017, the Browns signed Kizer to a four-year, $4.94 million contract that includes $2.42 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.73 million.[32][33] On August 27, following the team's third preseason game, the Browns named Kizer as the starting quarterback to begin the regular season, beating out veteran trade acquisitionBrock Osweiler and second-year quarterbacksCody Kessler andKevin Hogan.[34]
Making his NFL debut on September 10, 2017, Kizer finished with 222 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception to go along with 17 rushing yards and a one-yard touchdown, but the Browns lost by a score 21–18 at home to the Steelers.[35] He orchestrated a 12-play drive that ended after scoring on a one-yard touchdown run.[35] Kizer's first career passing touchdown was a three-yard pass to wide receiverCorey Coleman in the fourth quarter.[36][37] Kizer started the next four games for the Browns, which were all losses. During a Week 5 17–14 loss to theNew York Jets, Kizer was benched in favor of Kevin Hogan to begin the third quarter after throwing for 87 yards and an interception in the first half.[38] Hogan was later named the starter for the team's Week 6 matchup against theHouston Texans.[39] After Hogan's struggles in Week 6, Kizer was renamed the starter for the Week 7.[40]
During a Week 7 12–9 overtime loss to theTennessee Titans, Kizer threw for 114 yards and two interceptions before being benched in favor of Cody Kessler in the third quarter.[41][42] Following the game, reports surfaced that Kizer was out late the Friday before the game, which caused some controversy.[43] During a Week 14 27–21 overtime loss theGreen Bay Packers, Kizer threw for 214 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions, including one in overtime that gave the Packers excellent field position.[44] In the regular-season finale against the Steelers, Kizer finished with a season-high 314 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception during the 28–24 road loss.[45] The Browns finished the season with an 0–16 record, only the second team in NFL history to have that record.[46][47]
In 15 games and starts of his rookie season, Kizer completed 53.6 percent of his passes for 2,894 yards, 11 touchdowns, and a league-leading 22 interceptions to go along with 77 carries for 419 yards and five touchdowns.[48][49]
On March 14, 2018, Kizer was traded to the Packers in exchange forDamarious Randall and a swap of both fourth and fifth-round draft picks.[50]
During the season-opener against theChicago Bears, Kizer played in place of an injuredAaron Rodgers in the first and second quarters, throwing for 55 yards and an interception, which was returned for a touchdown, while also losing a fumble after being strip-sacked. Rodgers returned in the third quarter and led the Packers to a 24–23 comeback victory.[51] In the regular-season finale against theDetroit Lions, Kizer played in relief of Rodgers, who had suffered a concussion, and threw for 132 yards and an interception as the Packers were shut-out by a score of 31–0.[52][53]
On August 31, 2019, Kizer was released as part of the final roster cuts.[54]
On September 1, 2019, Kizer was claimed off waivers by theOakland Raiders.[55]
On May 5, 2020, Kizer was waived by the relocatedLas Vegas Raiders.[56] He was re-signed to thepractice squad on September 7,[57] and was released on September 30.[58]
On November 24, 2020, Kizer was signed to theTennessee Titans practice squad.[59] He was signed to a futures contract on January 11, 2021.[60]
Kizer entered the 2021 offseason as the third-string quarterback competing with backupLogan Woodside for the No. 2 spot behind starterRyan Tannehill.[61] Kizer was released on August 5, 2021, after the Titans signed quarterbackMatt Barkley.[62] Kizer was re-signed to the practice squad on November 26, 2021, but was released three days later.[63]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2017 | CLE | 15 | 15 | 0-15 | 255 | 476 | 53.6 | 2,894 | 6.1 | 11 | 22 | 60.5 | 77 | 419 | 5.4 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| 2018 | GB | 3 | 0 | ---- | 20 | 42 | 47.6 | 187 | 4.5 | 0 | 2 | 40.5 | 5 | 39 | 7.8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | OAK | 0 | 0 | ---- | DNP | |||||||||||||
| 2020 | LV | 0 | 0 | ---- | ||||||||||||||
| TEN | 0 | 0 | ---- | |||||||||||||||
| Career | 18 | 15 | 0-15 | 275 | 518 | 53.1 | 3,081 | 5.9 | 11 | 24 | 58.9 | 82 | 458 | 5.6 | 5 | 10 | 7 | |
Kizer's father, Derek, playedbasketball atBowling Green from 1987 to 1991.[64][65]
Kizer is the founder of One of None, an online marketplace that usesnon-fungible tokens (NFTs) to authenticate its products. He is also a member of ON_Discourse, adecentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that discusses technology and business.[66]
