The Cleveland Browns are reeling after being forced to place starting quarterback Robert Griffin III on injured reserve, but head coach Hue Jackson doesn’t want to take any drastic measures.
Jackson said on Monday that the Browns will not be trading for a quarterback, citing the lessons he learned from a regrettable trade for Carson Palmer to replace the injured Jason Campbell back when he was head coach of the Raiders in 2011.
“I learned not to trade. Don’t do that,” Jackson said, per Marc Sessler of NFL.com. “I learned a valuable lesson in that situation, but I was just having a little fun right there. I learned that if the team has been around the guy, who has a chance to be a quarterback, you’re better off keeping the guy you have … just because there’s continuity. The guys know what to expect from that player and how he’s going to perform and what he’s going to do. That was the biggest teacher for me.
“I hate to compare, but we have a very capable backup here,” Jackson continued, citing veteran quarterback Josh McCown. “A guy who has played in the National Football League for a lot of years and knows how to play and understands the lay of the land here and what needs to be done and I’m excited about that.”
Griffin will miss at least the next eight games after being put on injured reserve Monday thanks to a left shoulder sprain suffered in Sunday’s Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles (video here).
As a result McCown, will reclaim the starting gig and will hope to build off a 2015 campaign where started eight games for Cleveland, going 1-7 and throwing for 2109 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. Should the 37-year-old journeyman implode, the Browns also have former USC star Cody Kessler as an in-house option to possibly throw into the mix.
For a Cleveland team that simply isn’t very good on either side of the ball, the quarterback position likely won’t make a world of difference one way or the other. As such, they’re right to keep their wits about them and not overpay for a fill-in signal caller.
Image Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
H/T NFL Reddit
