The Cleveland Browns and stability at the quarterback position don't belong in the same sentence. As of this writing, the Browns have had 40 different starting quarterbacks since they re-entered the league in 1999. To put that into perspective, the team with the next highest number of starting quarterbacks since 1999 is the Bears with 30.
To put it bluntly, the Browns have been an absolute mess when it comes to the most important position in the sport. Without a viable starting quarterback, it's going to be hard to win games and stay relevant.
With so many less-than-stellar options to choose from, which Browns quarterback is the absolute worst? While arguments could be made for a large majority of the candidates, one stands out over the rest, and that is none other than DeShone Kizer.
Why DeShone Kizer is the worst quarterback in Browns history
A second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame, there was some optimism that Kizer could turn into a decent starter in the NFL. His draft profile on NFL.com said that he would "eventually be a plus starter" and was even compared to Steve McNair by some.
In reality, the writing should have been on the wall long before Kizer ever took a snap with the Browns. While still in college in the fall of 2016, Kizer looked good early in the season, but then his production tapered off, and that, of course, is the version of Kizer the Browns got.
The Browns shouldn't have rushed Kizer out before he was ready, but the problem in that 2017 season was that the team did not have other viable options to start at quarterback. The two other signal-callers on the roster were Kevin Hogan (a former fifth-rounder by the Chiefs one year prior) and Cody Kessler (a third-rounder by the Browns the year before), so the team didn't exactly have great veterans surrounding Kizer as he entered his pro career.
The lack of true threats at quarterback made it easier for Kizer to win the starting job right out of the gate, where, to be honest, he played all right in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns lost that game, but if you remember what year we're talking about here, you'll remember that the team lost every game they played that year.
Kizer soon started to look more like the rookie he was, and Hue Jackson benched him during a Week 5 game against the Jets in favor of Kevin Hogan, who started the next game as well. Kizer returned to the starting lineup in Week 7 when it was clear that Hogan was also not the answer at quarterback.
When the 2017 season was mercifully over, Kizer had started 15 of 16 games and thrown for 2,894 yards, 11 touchdowns, and a whopping 22 interceptions. He also rushed for 419 yards and five scores with his legs, which were some decent-looking numbers.
Unfortunately for Kizer, that was it for his starting chances in the NFL. Turns out going 0-15 means you're not going to be in consideration as the starting quarterback the following year and Kizer was traded to the Green Bay Packers, paving the way for Cleveland to spend the first overall pick (an honor the team had for the second straight year) to draft Baker Mayfield.
It wasn't entirely Kizer's fault that he was as terrible as he was in Cleveland. The Browns did not set him up for success as a rookie, and he was destined to fail. Kizer spent one year in Green Bay and played in three games during the 2018 season, but that's the last glimpse of regular-season action he's seen as a quarterback in the NFL.
There were plenty of arguments for who could have been considered the worst Browns quarterback, but Kizer going 0-15 made him the obvious choice here.