BEREA, Ohio -- DeShone Kizer can make the Cleveland Browns' dreams come true.

The team that has had 26 starting quarterbacks since 1999 will have a 27th come Sept. 10, assuming that rookie DeShone Kizer does not (A) get injured or (B) fall on his face Saturday night in Tampa, where he will start.

Kizer is Option 3 in the Browns' preseason quarterback derby, and in the long run he may be the best answer of all. The question is what learning on the fly will do to him in the short term.

The other options on the roster didn't give Hue Jackson much of a choice.

So the Browns are turning to a rookie in the hopes that he can duplicate what Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott did last season in Philadelphia and Dallas.

Brock Osweiler got the first two preseason starts, averaged 3 yards per attempt in his five series, and scored no points. The Osweiler era seems to be over after two practice games, as ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports the Browns are trying to trade him.
 Cody Kessler got the first chance, but he was so uninspiring in practice that the Browns turned to Osweiler to start preseason games even though he had received no practice reps with the first unit until after he was named the starter.

Kizer has not been perfect, but at this point he's the Browns' best option -- even if it means throwing him in before he's completely ready against Pittsburgh. He has led the Browns to three touchdowns and one field goal in just about a complete game of action.

He has shown the strong arm that has generated so much interest, and he has shown an ability to run -- though the Browns would probably be wise to junk the read-option plays that put him at risk of injury.

That risk showed up in one series against the Giants' first-team defense Monday. In a six-play stretch, he was sacked three times and ran twice. It wasn't pretty, and the indecisiveness raises the possibility that he could turn into a guy who takes too many hits as a rookie and suffers because of it.

It almost seemed like the Browns and Jackson were pleading for Osweiler to do something, anything, to justify keeping him in the starting spot. When little happened offensively and when Kizer guided drives for a touchdown and field goal Monday night, Jackson had to ponder the wisdom of whether it was worth hoping Osweiler came through or seeing what Kizer can do.

He chose to see what Kizer can do, for good reason.

Kizer will get the start and the bulk of the playing time in Tampa.

When the offseason started, Kessler had the chance to win the job. He didn't.

Three weeks ago it seemed that Osweiler had to fall flat to lose the job. He lost the job.

Kizer now has a chance to keep the job. The Browns aren't committing to him as the starter, but neither did the heavens fully commit to the eclipse until the moon passed the sun. Jackson has been entrusted to shepherd him through in a way that will keep him healthy and successful, and in a way where he will not lose confidence.

Kizer has a great arm and NFL size, and he'll go through growing pains.

But if he comes through, the Browns will come out of a tumultuous quarterback offseason and preseason expressing equal parts relief and happiness.