The career of DeShone Kizer has been far from what he has expected it to be so far. Kizer is heading into his third season in the NFL but 2019 may be his last chance with the Green Bay Packers.
The Notre Dame product began his NFL career by being selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, he would start in 15 games for the Browns and would end the season without winning a single game.
His numbers were less than spectacular, throwing for 2,894 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions. He also managed to complete only 53.6-percent of his passes as a rookie.
Following that season, the Browns decided to change the direction they were going in at the quarterback position. Therefore, they ended up trading Kizer to the Packers for Damarious Randall essentially.
Looking back on it, the Browns definitely look like the ones who won that trade. They have Baker Mayfield under center and Randall is a key contributor for their defense as well. Whereas, Kizer is still struggling to find his role on this Packers team.
Kizer was coming into an organization in Green Bay who symbolizes winning and values development. People were hoping to see Kizer find his groove by getting to be in the presence of someone as talented as Aaron Rodgers.
So far, that hasn't been the case as Kizer still looks like the young, rookie quarterback who was on the Browns 0-16 team in 2017. Although, it's unfair to put all of the blame on Kizer for the Browns struggling—as they had one of the most dysfunctional front offices at the time.
The young quarterback realized he wasn't going to be asked to start in Green Bay but backing up Rodgers could be beneficial for him. Maybe a quick change of scenery from Cleveland would help in the long run.
The 23-year old quarterback barely saw the field in 2018 but did get some snaps in a few games. Kizer would play in three games throughout the 2018 campaign.
In those three contests, Kizer failed to throw a touchdown while turning the ball over three times. Turnovers have been a huge issue for the third-year quarterback since he came into the NFL. Watching and practicing alongside a nearly-perfect quarterback like Rodgers should help with that.
Before the 2018 season began, the Packers made a surprising move. There was a battle in training camp for the backup quarterback spot between Brett Hundley and Kizer. Surprisingly, Green Bay sided with Kizer and decided to trade Hundley to the Seattle Seahawks.
What made so telling about this move was that Hundley actually showed some potential in his nine starts with the team in 2017. Even Kizer himself was shocked to see Hundley be traded by the Packers.
Nonetheless, the Packers felt confident moving forward with Kizer holding the clipboard. The 2019 season is going to be a crucial one for the Packers backup quarterback though. Kizer is heading into the third year of his rookie contract but is hoping to remain in Green Bay.
Backup quarterbacks are replaced every day like a pair of socks. And any day, Green Bay could choose to do so in the snap of a finger. Kizer isn't owed much money over the next two seasons—nearly $2 million to be exact. To put it another way, Brian Gutekunst's pockets wouldn't be hurt by releasing him.
With that in mind, Kizer should take the 2019 season as the last chance for him to impress the Packers organization. The Packers quarterback will need to have a sense of urgency coming into the offseason programs.
If not, he'll be looking for a job elsewhere in 2020 with a less-than-impressive resume.
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