When the Cleveland Browns begin practicing during training camp, Cody Kessler will be working with the first-team offense, Hue Jackson said Wednesday.
His reasoning, however, for keeping Kessler as the “starter” right now is one of respect more than one of ability, per se.
Cody Kessler starts camp as No. 1 QB "this is a competition…guy that's played most football….deserves to walk out 1st" – Hue Jackson
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) July 26, 2017
Brock Osweiler has gotten some good press, though at this point we’ll be surprised if he’s starting at any time in 2017 in a non-emergency setting. Though, Jackson made it clear that the veteran is a legitimate option to start if he proves he’s the best.
Asked if Osweiler has legit shot to win job, Jackson says, "Yes he does. He's here competing."
— Andrew Gribble (@Andrew_Gribble) July 26, 2017
Kessler acquitted himself well as a rookie out of USC last season. He was pressed into duty when Robert Griffin III went down with an injury early. While his 0-8 record is appalling, Kessler completed 65.6 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,380 yards with six touchdowns and just two interceptions.
The thing about Kessler is, he’s very limited. Even after working hard to improve his arm strength this offseason, it’s been said he still struggles to drive the ball through the wind. And while deep balls aren’t the end-all, be-all for quarterbacks, we’ve seen that in this league NFL defenses will prey on passers who can’t threaten them over the top. When the field shrinks, it’s tougher in general to produce big plays otherwise, when deep passes aren’t happening.
Kizer is not going to have that issue. He can throw it anywhere in the yard, and he also has the ability to make plays outside the pocket. Ideally, if he’s ready to play, he’ll be starting most games in 2016, if not all of them.
It’s been reported that Jackson will face “serious temptation” to start Kizer when the games begin. The rookie out of Notre Dame has wowed this offseason, and multiple reports indicate he’s been the player who has improved the most.
So while it’s very cool that Jackson is giving Kessler the respect that comes from having the most experience in his system, we don’t expect him to hold onto the starting job for long.