Browns quarterback group: Stay or go in 2018?

The Cleveland Browns have several roster decisions to make for 2018, none more important than at the quarterback position.

The Cleveland Browns are embarking on yet another one of their “most important off seasons ever” as they start yet another rebuilding project.

But unlike their past attempts to turn themselves into an actual NFL franchise, this rebuild is taking on a different look and feel.

Because of the work that executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown did before he was fired in December, there is a solid foundation for general manager John Dorsey to build on.

In addition to sound offensive and defensive lines, along with young, promising players at tight end, linebacker and in the secondary, Dorsey has somewhere north of $100 million in cap space at his disposal, along with 12 selections in the 2018 NFL Draft – including picks No. 1 and No. 4 in the first round, plus another three selections in the second round.

Dorsey needs to hold onto some of that cap space to start re-signing players nearing the end of their rookie deals, running back Duke Johnson comes to mind, but the cap dollars, draft picks and unwritten NFL rule that a new general manager needs “his players” to make things work means that the roster will undergo changes between now and Week 1 of the regular season in September.

To that end, let’s take a look at which players currently on the roster will likely still be in Orange and Brown come the fall, and which will be seeking employment elsewhere, starting with the quarterbacks.

Current quarterbacks

DeShone Kizer, Kevin Hogan, Cody Kessler

Contract status

Kizer is signed through 2020, Hogan is a restricted free agent, Kessler is signed through 2019 (Per spotrac.com)

2017 stats

• Kizer – 255-of-476, 53.6 completion percentage, 2,894 yards, 11 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, 38 sacks, 60.5 quarterback rating
• Hogan – 46-of-75, 61.3 completion percentage, 517 yards, 4 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 6 sacks, 71.9 quarterback rating
• Kessler – 11-of-23, 47.8 completion percentage, 126 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception, 6 sacks, 46.6 quarterback rating

Stay or Go?

While it is somewhat easy to create a reasonable scenario where Dorsey, not wanting to trust a rookie quarterback to head coach Hue Jackson after seeing how Jackson handled Kizer this season, declines to select a quarter in the upcoming draft, the odds are the Browns are going to talk out of the first round with their latest quarterback of the future.

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That puts Kizer in line for a demotion, either to QB2 or, more likely, to the third quarterback position and a spot on the weekly inactive list.

The Browns are expected to sign or trade for a veteran quarterback so they don’t have to rush their rookie quarterback onto the field in 2018 the way Jackson did with Kizer this past season, so that will leave Kizer as the odd man out this fall.

Kessler is likely gone no matter what the Browns do in free agency and the draft. Once a quarterback that fans talked themselves into as a potential starter, but who is really destined to be a serviceable backup quarterback, Kessler found himself inactive on game days as soon as Dorsey took over in the front office. The Browns have more than enough cash laying around to absorb Kessler’s cap hit, which is $924,295, according to spotrac.com.

Hogan would seem to have an in since he was drafted by Dorsey in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft while Dorsey was still with the Chiefs. Hogan also found himself as the backup quarterback once Dorsey arrived in Cleveland.

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But with a quarterback coming in the draft, another one coming via trade or free agency, and Kizer, the numbers just don’t work out in Hogan’s favor.