Cleveland Browns Training Camp Recap: Day 16 - Osweiler named starter, but Kizer has the big day

Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report - Day 16 (8/16/17)

1. Brock Osweiler Will Start: Perhaps to no one’s surprise, after practice, head coach Hue Jackson confirmed that veteran QB Brock Osweiler will start this Monday night against the New York Giants.

The change in quarterback reps we saw on Tuesday continued during Wednesday’s practice, though -- QB DeShone Kizer was the second guy in, and QB Cody Kessler was up third. That is the order the quarterbacks will enter against the Giants, and Jackson wants to make sure Kizer gets some first half action.

2. Managed Days Off: It’s good that this doesn’t have to be called the bicycle brigade this year, although the team did suffer a couple of injuries (more on that in the next bullet point). The managed days off on Wednesday included the following players:

3. Offensive Linemen Changes: After Wednesday’s practice began, the team announced that LG Joel Bitonio (knee) and LT Cameron Erving (calf) were out with injuries sustained on Tuesday. You can read more on those injuries here.

That means veteran OG John Greco is sliding up to the first team to play left guard, and on days when LT Joe Thomas isn’t practicing, rookie OT Rod Johnson will be at left tackle with the ones. Johnson has to be preying that the Giants don’t make him look like DE Myles Garrett has been, including this pancake bullrush on Wednesday:

Thomas actually volunteered to be the scout team left tackle today, allowing Johnson the opportunity to run with the ones.

4. Kizer Hits the Deep Fade to Britt: One of the highlights of Wednesday’s practice came with QB DeShone Kizer under center in an 11-on-11 drill. WR Kenny Britt lined up near the hash, and then ran a deep fade route, with the pass being dropped right in the bucket for a touchdown. CB Channing Stribling was in coverage on the play.

5. Receivers Give Kizer Some Assists: The highlight-reel stretch for Kizer didn’t end there. Here are two more touchdowns that Kizer made against the second-team defense in red zone drills: finding WR Rannell Hall (with some yards after the catch from Hall), and then a nice one-hand stab by WR Ricardo Louis.

All three of Kizer’s touchdown passes, as well as the bull-rush earlier from DE Myles Garrett, can be seen in the team’s Day 16 recap video, which I’ve embedded at the top of this post.

6. Offensive Line Drill: I’m not quite sure what these offensive linemen are doing under Bob Wylie’s watchful eye. The only thing I could guess is that they are practicing having active hands and “feeling” defensive linemen who are coming around on stunts. If anyone has a better idea, let us know in the comments section.

7. Brownies: Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta was at camp today. ... WR Corey Coleman continues to display nice hands. ... The team was in full pads on Wednesday, but I don’t believe there was live tackling. ... The first 1,000 fans again received the “United by Stripes” t-shirts. ... The Browns hit the big 100 mark in terms of number of puppies adopted this year (by the end of practice, it was actually up to 102 puppies). ... During today's session, the Browns hosted 15 veterans from the Wade Park VA. as special guests as part of the team's commitment to servicemen, servicewomen and their families.

8. Next Up: The Browns’ final session of training camp open to the public is Thursday from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM. The first 500 fans will receive a free slice of pizza from Antonio’s.

9. Special Event for Season Ticket Holders: Break out the red carpet, as all of the big shots will be available in a special fan forum for about 100 season ticket holders. I wouldn’t be surprised if Commissioner Roger Goodell also made a brief appearance at training camp while he’s at it.