NFL Notes: Aldon Smith, Browns, Seahawks

Aldon Smith

• Jason Cole of B/R, citing sources close to suspended Raiders OLB Aldon Smith, reports that he’s “nowhere close to reinstatement” to the NFL, despite some claims from him that he could be back soon.
• According to Cole’s sources, Smith has made no consistent efforts to follow the program the NFL has laid out for him.
• Cole’s source added that Smith will put together one great week and then begin having problems the very next week.

Browns

Browns second-round QB DeShone Kizer acknowledged that there’s a long way to go before he’s ready to play in the NFL.

“There’s so much I need to learn before I can even consider thinking about competition and trying to play,’‘ Kizer said Monday, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Right now, I’m at step one. I need to get to level 500 before I can even consider stepping on an NFL field.”

“As we move forward, things are going to move quicker,” Kizer added. “I’m going to be out there with a bunch of veterans, and that’s when we will figure out where the big steps need to be taken. (When) we get out here and have all of the top older guys running around with us, then I’ll be able to focus in on the things that it’s going to take for me to compete with those guys.”

Browns HC Hue Jackson explained that he has no plans to “baby” Kizer.

“I’m not babying him — that’s for sure — because the other teams won’t baby him, either,” Jackson said. “He just has to get used to it, and I think he has. He’s been outstanding that way. He gets it. He knows that my charge for him is a consistency level at a high level all of the time, and that is not going to happen in two days.”

Seahawks

• While Seahawks HC Pete Carroll said that they’re considering all of their options at backup quarterback including Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III, Ian Rapoport mentions that “Kaepernick is a potential, legitimate backup option for the Seahawks.”
• However, Rapoport does not get the sense that RGIII would be the preferred option of the two.