The Facts: Osweiler has been released today, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports, bringing an end to a five-month stretch that saw him start in the preseason just long enough for Cleveland to confirm that DeShone Kizer is their quarterback of the future.

Diehards Line: The Browns’ decision to trade for Osweiler was never about having Osweiler play for him and always about acquiring a second-round draft pick from the Texans in exchange for agreeing to take Osweiler’s salary. The terrible contract the Texans gave Osweiler a year ago is now the Browns’ responsibility, meaning Cleveland still has to pay Osweiler $16 million this year. But the Browns are willing to do that because they wanted the draft pick and they had the cap space. For the Browns, the trade was a success no matter what Osweiler did. Now Osweiler will become a free agent, able to shop himself to teams looking for a veteran backup. He’ll probably catch on somewhere — for a lot less than $16 million.