So much has been made about what’s at stake for rookie DeShone Kizer and, for a long time before that, also Cody Kessler in the Browns quarterback competition.

 

But nothing has been said about what’s on the line for the guy who just might come out on top, Brock Osweiler, He will start in Monday night’s nationally-televised game against the New York Giants.

 

Indeed, there’s a lot at stake for Osweiler, namely his career.

 

Osweiler was a bust last year for the Houston Texans, who had a ready-made defense and needed just a little help from the quarterback in order to challenge for a Super Bowl berth in the AFC. It didn’t happen. The defense held up its end of the bargain, but the quarterback did not. The result was that the Texans were blown out by the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs.

 

Now Osweiler is getting another opportunity with a team at the other end of the spectrum, as the Browns are coming off a 1-15 season. They desperately need a quarterback, and have, really, since they took the field again in 1999. They’d like to think that guy will be Kizer, a  second-round pick in the NFL Draft. They’ve contoured everything to allow that to happen.

 

But if the truth be told, they’d let Osweiler have the job if he can prove he deserves it. To do that, though, he must play much, much better than he did in last Thursday night’s 20-14 win over the New Orleans Saints in the preseason opener. He was awful.

 

He needs to turn that around against the Giants, and if he can, then he will probably be the starter heading into the regular season. That would be a strong comeback for him, for no one expected Osweiler to even be with the Browns right now.

 

However, if he can’t win the job on a team as quarterback-needy as the Browns, then it may be a long time – if ever – before he  gets another chance anywhere in the NFL.

 

As such, it’s a make-it-or-break-it situation for Osweiler.