The Facts: Kizer has been named the starter for Saturday's preseason game against the Buccaneers, the strongest indication yet that he's the favorite to be the starter when the regular season begins. HC Hue Jackson said he's very pleased with everything Kizer is doing, and believes Kizer can start in the regular season as well, although he stopped short of saying Kizer will get the job permanently.
Diehards Line:
“He has made a lot of progress by investing the time necessary to learn our offense, working hard to improve on his fundamentals while also effectively moving the offense in preseason games,” Jackson said. “We are very excited about seeing DeShone in the role of starter for this week, as he is certainly positioning himself well to earn the starting job heading into the regular season.” Kizer has played well in the preseason, but it was unclear whether he played well enough to move ahead of Brock Osweiler and Cody Kessler on the depth chart. Now it’s clear that Kizer is the favorite to win the job, and if he plays well this week he’ll start in Week 1. That won't make him fantasy relevant, but it's a step in that direction.