Need to Know: Browns QB Brock Osweiler to start preseason opener

Day 11 of training camp is in the books. Here’s what you need to know. — Browns quarterback Brock Osweiler will start Thursday’s preseason opener against the Saints, the team announced Monday morning. Osweiler, who started 14 games in Houston before being traded to Cleveland in March, met with reporters following the decision, saying now’s not the time to get complacent. “There was a coach that once told me, ‘Be the same guy every day,’” he said. “That’s what I have always tried to do, whether I was the backup or the starter. That’s what I’m going to continue to do. Nothing is going to change, just the group that I’m working with.” Browns coach Hue Jackson, who had previously described Osweiler as a “pleasant surprise,” emphasized the quarterback competition — which includes Osweiler, Cody Kessler, DeShone Kizer and Kevin Hogan — will remain a fluid process through the preseason. “I think this is about this week, this opportunity and then we will keep going from there, because there is still a lot about Brock I need to know too, playing in a game,” Jackson said. “He hasn’t done that for me as well, so I think we will find out a lot about our quarterbacks and our football team this Thursday night.” — Kessler, who had been taking first-team reps since offseason workouts, spoke of having an internal locus of control following Monday’s announcement. “It's the same mindset you keep every time. Whether you're going first group, second group, whatever it may be, you have to prepare like a starter,” Kessler said. “That’s something I've been doing since high school. Nothing changes no matter what the rotation is or where you go.” Kessler, who started eight games as a rookie last year, will work with the second team while Kizer and Hogan follow him in the rotation.— Following Friday’s Orange & Brown Scrimmage, Kizer — the rookie from Notre Dame — described the session as a learning experience as he continues to grow in the Browns offense. He approached Monday's news with a similar frame of mind. “I think this is just another step in the process of me trying to get better,” he said. “This whole training camp is about me developing and going out and performing when my number is called.” — As a rookie, linebacker Joe Schobert led the Browns in special teams tackles with 14. Now in his second year, he’s competing to be Cleveland’s starting middle linebacker. It’s a new position for Schobert, the fourth-round pick from Wisconsin who played mostly on the outside in 2016. “I am learning a new scheme, learning a new position,” he said. “I get a chance to run around a lot more this year and make some checks. I get to call the defense so a little more responsibility. It has been good.” — With the preseason opener around the corner, Jackson said the team’s starters will play, though he’s unsure how much. “I know we are going to play. We are going to play a little bit,” he said, laughing, “because we need to. We need to get out there and play football, but I don’t know how far it will be. You kind of do some things by feel and I don’t want those guys to know what number of plays before they say, ‘OK, I am going to check out’ so, we will keep everybody into it and take them out when I think it is time to take them out.” Cleveland hosts New Orleans this week and the Giants on Aug. 21.

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Need to Know: Browns QB Brock Osweiler to start preseason opener