Forgive Browns fans if they roll their eyes at quarterback coach David Lee’s assessment of DeShone Kizer. They have heard optimism about a quarterback before -- Tim Couch, Colt McCoy, Brady Quinn, Johnny Manziel to name a few of many -- and yet the search continues.
But Lee, who has coached Tony Romo, Vinny Testaverde, Chad Pennington, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tyrod Taylor, couldn’t help but use the rookie Kizer’s name in the same sentence as Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Flacco.
“Here’s the answer: it’s big-play ability,” Lee said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “That’s what that dude’s going to give this football team if he ever becomes the starter one day, and we don’t know that yet, but the way his ball moves and jumps off his hand and gets to the receiver in a hurry. ...That ball can get there faster if there’s a whole lot less time to break on it.
“And that’s what I see in him is a big, strong, guy which is defined in this division by Ben and by Joe Flacco, and this kid’s in that mold. He’s 6-43/4; he’s got a 10-inch hand; he’s smart; he can run; he can move. He’s not Tyrod Taylor, but he can run and make plays. He’s got a great future. He’s just a long way from being ready. He’s not ready, but he’s climbing on it and he’s making progress.”
Lee did caution that Kizer “has a long way to go.”