NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans decided early in training camp that they did not want DeShone Kizer. Once again, though, they need the veteran quarterback.
The Titans signed Kizer to their practice squad on Friday, which makes him the likely candidate to serve as Ryan Tannheill’s backup Sunday against the New England Patriots.
The move comes almost one year to the day that Tennessee first signed him. That was Nov. 24, 2020, after the New Orleans Saints plucked Trevor Siemian off the practice squad and left the Titans with just two quarterbacks. Kizer spent the remainder of that season on the practice squad functioning as a “quarantine quarterback,” separated from the team to ensure his availability in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak.
This time, his addition comes two days after Logan Woodside was placed on the Reserve-COVID 19 list. Tennessee’s only other available quarterback is Kevin Hogan, who has been on the practice squad for a little more than two weeks.
Kizer has remained unsigned since the Titans cut him on Aug. 5 but has spent much more time in the offense than Hogan.
A second-round pick by Cleveland in 2017, Kizer was expected to compete with Woodside for the No. 2 job throughout the preseason, but franchise officials replaced him with Matt Barkley a week before the first contest. Barkley spent the first nine weeks of this season on the practice squad before the Carolina Panthers signed him to their active roster.
Kizer has 18 games of NFL experience, the last in 2018, and is 0-15 as a starter, all with the Cleveland Browns in 2017.
Also Friday, the Titans placed practice squad tight end Austin Fort on the Reserve-COVID 19 list. He is the third Tennessee player this week to be sidelined by the league’s coronavirus protocols.
Kizer fills Fort’s spot on the practice squad.
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