Kessler begins camp as starter

Jackson says QB knows offense best; Osweiler, Kizer will have opportunities in practice as well

The quarterback race in Berea is underway, and on the eve of the Browns’ first practice of training camp, coach Hue Jackson announced Cody Kessler will begin camp as the starter.

Whether Kessler is still the starter when the Browns open the regular season on Sept. 10 against the Steelers is yet to be determined. Brock Osweiler and rookie DeShone Kizer will also get plenty of practice time, at least initially.

“Cody will walk out there first and we’ll give him the opportunity there,” Jackson said on July 26 as he and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown sat in front of the media room at Browns headquarters. “Obviously Brock and DeShone and Kevin (Hogan) will get reps.

“This is a competition. Somebody has to walk out there first. We’ve made the decision it will be Cody and we’ll go from there. He’s still the guy who knows the offense the best. He’s played the most football for us in that group and I think he deserves the chance to walk out there first.”

Kessler was 0-8 as a starter with the Browns last season. Osweiler was 8-6 with Houston after going 5-2 with Denver in 2015. Kizer threw 47 touchdown passes in two seasons at Notre Dame.

Training camp practices at the Berea facility are free and open to the public. Practice July 27 begins at 3 p.m. The July 28 practice starts at 3:25 p.m.

The dilemma for Jackson not identifying his starting quarterback going into camp is whoever ultimately wins the job will be deprived of valuable snaps early in the process while all the candidates rotate in and out.

That was not the situation for Jackson as Bengals offensive coordinator in 2014 and ’15, when he already knew Andy Dalton was his starter.

“You adjust as you go,” Jackson said July 26. “As you start to see guys start to distance themselves, you start to move into a different direction. How will it all turn out?

“I can’t tell you exactly how fast it’s going to happen, but I think we all know that old saying — ‘The cream kind of rises to the top.’ They’ll start to separate themselves as we go. As that happens, we’ll make that decision and make sure that guy gets enough reps to be ready to play. I would like to have a quarterback hopefully named by (the preseason opener Aug. 10 vs. New Orleans), but I‘m not going

to force it. What’s important is to feel good about the guy that we stick out there.”

The other bit of news to come from the news conference is every player is healthy and ready to practice with the exception of cornerback Howard Wilson, who will begin camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a knee injury.

The medical update is significant because defensive end Myles Garrett, the first overall pick in the draft, was last seen in a walking boot after suffering a sprained left foot in minicamp. Wide receiver Corey Coleman missed most of OTAs and minicamp because of shoulder and hamstring injuries.

Jackson said both players will be monitored in training camp.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Cody Kessler, shown during practice in May, “will walk out there first,” Coach Hue Jackson said.