Rumor: Browns will look to trade quarterback Cody Kessler

The Cleveland Browns suddenly have a full quarterback room and the team is now reportedly shopping quarterback Cody Kessler.

Oh, how the (sort of) mighty have fallen.

Once considered by some as a potential starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns if only “given a chance,” quarterback Cody Kessler‘s days with the club are likely numbered.

The Browns traded for starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor a few weeks ago, and signed veteran backup Drew Stanton on Sunday, leaving no room at the inn for Kessler.

So according to Ian Rapoport at the NFL Network, general manager John Dorsey is “expected” to start shopping Kessler around to see if there are any buyers:

Kessler was selected by the Browns in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. It was an odd choice at the time, one made even odder with the quick success of quarterback Dak Prescott, who was selected by the Dallas Cowboys 42 picks later.

When questioned about the Kessler pick, head coach Hue Jackson famously told everyone that they simply had to trust the quarterback whisperer when it came to such matters. Even though Jackson was on the record as saying that, the anti-analytics crowd created a narrative that Kessler was a pick of the “analytics-driven” front office, making Kessler the face of the “failed” analytics movement.

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As is often the case with the Browns and their quarterbacks, Kessler hit the field quicker than anyone expected his rookie season. After starting quarterback Robert Griffin III was injured in the season opener, and then backup quarterback Josh McCown went down with an injury in Week 2, Kessler found himself taking the field as the starting quarterback against the Miami Dolphins in Week 3.

In some ways that was the high point of Kessler’s time in Cleveland as he passed for 244 yards and just missed leading the Browns to a win as the team fell to the Dolphins in overtime.

Kessler would start eight games his rookie season and lose each of them. He was benched in a Week 10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens for his inability to throw the ball deep, and finished his rookie year with just enough of a tease to make fans believe he could step up his game in 2017.

That would not be the case, however, as Jackson turned to rookie DeShone Kizer as his starter to open the season. Kessler made three appearances during the season, but only attempted 23 passes.

Next: Browns: Signing Drew Stanton doesn't change anything

Now with Taylor and Stanton on the roster, and a rookie quarterback on the way with the first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, Kessler’s time in Cleveland has come to a close.

Since the rest of the NFL knows the Browns are finished with Kessler, it will be surprising if Dorsey can get anything other than a conditional low-round draft pick in a deal.