Cleveland Browns: Don’t expect a decision on the starting QB soon
Hue Jackson has six weeks to decide on a starting quarterback, and Cleveland Browns fans should expect him to take most of that time to make a decision.
The Cleveland Browns had a clear starting quarterback to begin training camp in 2016. While the certainty was nice, the fact that player was Robert Griffin III didn’t make fans too happy.
Jump to today and the Browns are having one of the familiar quarterback competitions fans are used to, but there isn’t a sense of dread as all three competitors seem to be qualified to lead the team.
Cody Kessler, Brock Osweiler and DeShone Kizer all have specific shortcomings, but not one of the three stands out as a horrible option. The problem is that not one stands out as the clear favorite either.
That problem is why it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Hue Jackson doesn’t name a Week 1 starter until late in the preseason.
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And when he does name a starter, a horrible outing in Week 1 could cause Jackson to give someone else a shot. That may seem like a rash decision, but several interceptions or awful plays could lead Jackson to seek out his best option to avoid letting the season go the way it did in 2016.
While some fans may want Jackson to name a starter sooner to allow that player to exclusively work with the first-team offense, there isn’t a benefit to naming one early in this specific case.
Jackson did declare Kessler to be the early favorite, so that does give him an advantage, while also allowing Osweiler and Kizer to play their best knowing there is still a shot to become the starter.
Not having a clear starting quarterback heading into training camp won’t be acceptable when this team expects to be a playoff contender, but it is understandable at this point in time. The team has not yet invested heavily in a quarterback, so there is no pressure to play one player over another this season.
Performance will dictate who gets playing time and it is wise to allow some time to make the decision in what is unfortunately expected to be another losing season.