Brock Osweiler’s claim to the starting QB job

Brock Osweiler is by no means the answer at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, but he should be the guy under center come Week 1.

Training camp is underway for the Cleveland Browns, which means another episode of “Who will be the starting quarterback this season?” is in full swing.

Cleveland.com writer Mary Kay Cabot reported that head coach Hue Jackson gave Cody Kessler the nod to begin training camp on Wednesday.

While Kessler has earned the opportunity to work with the first-team unit from the start, Jackson made it clear that Brock Osweiler has every chance to win the starting job. Clevelandbrowns.com writer Andrew Gribble asked Jackson on Osweiler’s odds of beating out Kessler and DeShone Kizer.

Osweiler should not only compete for the starting gig, but he should win it too.

Yes, everyone even Osweiler himself, are well aware that his one-year stint with the Houston Texans was a disaster. Osweiler was supposed to come to the Texans to provide stability at quarterback after signing a massive four-year, $72 million deal last offseason.

The Denver Broncos weren’t ready to make a franchise-like quarterback offer to Osweiler, so he took off for Houston. The Broncos were right about Osweiler, who failed to live up to the lofty expectations that he could lead a franchise.

Osweiler’s rock bottom initially came in Week 15 last season when he was benched in favor of Tom Savage. Tom who?

Then, Osweiler seeped deep through the surface on March 9 when the Texans traded him to the Browns to dump their $72 million mistake.

The team Osweiler thought had his back shipped him to Cleveland — the place where quarterbacks have been destined for failure and even begin thinking about future retirement plans.

But things are different in Cleveland now. Well, kind of.

A fresh start behind one of the premier quarterback guru’s in Jackson might be exactly what Osweiler needs to salvage his career. He has all the tools; he stands at 6-foot-7 and has the arm strength Jackson can work with.

He’s the most experienced quarterback on the roster, even though all of last season’s woes still remain in the minds of those who remember him.

Instead look at 2015, the season he replaced a broken Peyton Manning and led the team to a 5-2 finish, including a win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots that helped the Broncos secure the top overall seed in the AFC.

Maybe, just maybe Brock can re-kindle some magic from his solid 2015 campaign season.

If he can win the three-headed race, Osweiler may be able to regain the former shell of himself.

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The Browns focused heavily on bolstering the offensive line, adding JC Tretter and Kevin Zeitler to potentially give them one of the best in the league heading into the 2017 season.

Add in Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson to what should be a solid rushing attack this season, similar to the one that Osweiler had in Denver with C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman, he might be able to make a smooth transition as a game-managing quarterback.

Is Osweiler the long-term answer at quarterback? Absolutely not. A stop-gap? Yes.

At this point, why not do an experiment with Osweiler, who has shown he has the capabilities of keeping a team afloat.

Kessler certainly didn’t make a strong enough case that he’s head and shoulders better among the rest by his play from last season, heck, he didn’t even make it to the end of the season. The only reason why he’s No. 1 on the depth chart is because he knows the playbook just a little bit better than his challengers.

That says enough in itself.

Then you have the rookie second-round draft choice in DeShone Kizer, who turned the ball over and over and over in his last season at Notre Dame. Like all young quarterbacks, he needs time to develop rather than throw him in the fire right away like they did with Kessler.

The Browns don’t want Kizer to suffer the same fate as former high quarterback draft picks Brady Quinn, Colt McCoy, Brandon Weeden and most recently Johnny Manziel.

They’ve seen that narrative play out before. Don’t make that same mistake with Kizer.

Next: 6 moves the Browns should make right now

Jackson and the Browns know their franchise guy is not currently on the roster. They need a hail mary at this point, so maybe it should be in Brock we trust… for now.