Former Houston Texan fits in with Cleveland’s QB drama
No longer an afterthought, Osweiler could revive career with Browns
How totally crazy would it be if Brock Osweiler ends up as the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns?
Actually, how completely Browns like would it be? Very Browns-like.
When the Browns traded for Osweiler in March, the move was viewed as the Houston Texans dumping Osweiler’s salary and the Browns cleverly facilitating that. There was little to no thought at the time that Osweiler actually might figure into Cleveland’s quarterback mix. The Browns possessed the No. 1 and No. 12 overall picks in the NFL draft and the conventional wisdom at the time was that they’d turn No. 12 into their next quarterback, either selecting Mitchell Trubisky or Deshaun Watson, or trading for Jimmy Garoppolo.
But the draft ended with Garoppolo still in New England, Trubisky in Chicago and Watson in Houston. The Browns traded down from No. 12, passing up the chance to select Watson. They did choose a quarterback, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, in the second round. So Hue Jackson, the team’s second-year head coach coming off a 1-15 debut season, is left to pick from among Kizer, second-year pro Cody Kessler and Osweiler as his starter.
Osweiler no longer is an afterthought, in part because the Browns, puzzlingly, again failed to do whatever it took to land a prospective franchise quarterback, making these curious moves one year after they traded the No. 2 overall selection to Philadelphia rather than using it themselves on Carson Wentz. In addition, Osweiler has looked good enough in off-season drills to play his way into the starting mix, which doesn’t take all that much in Cleveland, after all.
Regarding Osweiler as a potential NFL starter didn’t used to be a preposterous notion. He played reasonably well for the Denver Broncos in 2015, throwing for 1,967 yards and 10 touchdowns with six interceptions in eight games, including seven starts. He had a passer rating of 86.4. But after the Broncos went back to Peyton Manning for their run to a Super Bowl title, Osweiler opted to exit via free agency for the $18 million-per-year contract offer from the Texans. He wasn’t the answer in Houston. Far from it. He regressed to 15 touchdown passes, 16 interceptions and a 72.2 passer rating last season, becoming an NFL reclamation project.
Kessler remains the favourite to open the season as the starter for the Browns. He was competent at times last season as a rookie, making eight starts and posting a passer rating of 92.3 in his nine games. Kizer could take over at some point.
But Osweiler at least is in the conversation, and that is a development that few could have foreseen when the trade was made. The Browns have spent years being the NFL destination where quarterback reputations went to perish. Wouldn’t it be odd if, in Osweiler’s case, Cleveland becomes the place where a quarterbacking career went to be revived?