David Carr: Cody Kessler can 'absolutely' be the Browns' starting QB
Carr also compared the rookie to another undersized QB who has a Super Bowl title under his belt
By
Ryan Wilson
•
2 min read
Fans were understandably skeptical when the Browns used a third-round pick on former USC quarterback Cody Kessler this month. The team has a long, undistinguished record when it comes to finding starting quarterbacks through the draft, and if history is any guide, there's little reason to believe that this time will be any different.
But first-year coach Hue Jackson is asking fans to trust him about Kessler, adding, "This is a guy that we feel very comfortable with, and we think he's going to have an opportunity to ascend."
How far can Kessler "ascend"? According to his mentor and 2002 first-overall pick David Carr, all the way to the starting job.
"Hue's track record speaks for itself,'' Carr told Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. "The hard part is there's five guys in that room right now and just getting the reps and making sure you stand out. But he can absolutely be the starting quarterback of the Browns. There'd be no surprise from anyone in Bakersfield or Los Angeles for that matter. He's got a lot of work to do and he knows that, but he can do it.''
Two of the big concerns about Kessler is arm strength (considered average at best) and size (he's listed at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds). But Carr, who played 12 NFL seasons with three teams, compares Kessler to another small-by-NFL standards quarterback: Drew Brees, who Carr first saw while serving as a counselor at an Elite 11 camp near San Diego.
"Carson Palmer and I took a trip down and saw Drew practicing in San Diego and we were like, 'Who's the little guy?'" Carr said. "And they were like, 'That's the starting quarterback.' And then he ended up being a pretty good quarterback, so Cody's kind of the same way arm strength-wise. It's not going to jump off the page. You're not going to say, 'Oh wow,' but you're going to get to the end of practice and he's going to hit 15 out of 16 passes and you're going to say, 'He's a pretty efficient guy.'"
Not surprisingly, Kessler is preparing like he's atop the depth chart because, well, that's what you're supposed to do in these situations.
"If there's a team that has a 15-year vet or if there's an open competition, I'm treating it as if I'm the starter," he said earlier this month, adding, "I'm going to come in there and compete for a spot, but I'm not going to be arrogant."
Also not surprising: The organization is entering the offseason with an open mind about the starting job. As it stands, five quarterbacks are in the mix: Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown, Connor Shaw, Austin Davis and Kessler.
"There's no question with the investment in Robert, we absolutely feel like he has the opportunity to become the starting quarterback," Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown told PFT Live recently. "There's still a competition there, and we haven't named a starter yet, and Cody will get into that mix."
And who knows, he might even win it.
