BEREA, Ohio -- Since their return to the National Football League in 1999, the Cleveland Browns have had 28 different quarterbacks make at least one start, and all of that inconsistency has led to just two winning seasons and one playoff appearance after the original team moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens.
With the Browns making a change in the front office earlier this week, letting go of Sashi Brown, their former executive vice president of football operations, and hiring new general manager John Dorsey, owner Jimmy Haslam has laid out the challenge to find a stalwart quarterback.
“Let me say it this way, the Cleveland Browns are not going to be successful until we get a quarterback,” Haslam said at Dorsey’s introductory press conference. “We obviously have DeShone (Kizer). We have two other quarterbacks on the roster. We are going to look at free agency, and we are going to look at the draft.
“As was mentioned earlier, we have a substantial amount of capital. We are going to do whatever it takes to find a quarterback we need to be successful. Let me say one more thing: that will be John’s No. 1 priority. We have gotten to know each other very well over the last several weeks. I think he would tell you if you asked him, ‘What did Jimmy ask you more than anything?’ It was about quarterback.”
In his first 10 NFL starts, Kizer completed 166 of his 313 attempts (53 percent) for 1,823 yards with five touchdowns against a league-worst 14 interceptions. Additionally, Kizer took 24 sacks for 152 lost yards and held a 57.2 quarterback rating.
Then, in a 19-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday, Kizer completed 15 of his 32 attempts for 215 yards and one touchdown with a lost strip-sack fumble and interception on the Browns’ final two possessions of the game.
It was Kizer’s sixth .500 or worse completion percentage in 11 NFL starts.
“This is a quarterback-driven league,” Dorsey said. “We all know that, and we all know to succeed and go a little bit further and further and further that you need one of those guys.
“I think it is an evaluation period that is going to take a little bit of a while to put a plan together. The draft is four-and-a-half months away and free agency is like three months away. We have ample time to make a plan here.”
Dorsey came to the Browns after helping rebuild the Kansas City Chiefs.
One of Dorsey’s first moves was to acquire a quarterback, and the Chiefs chose to trade for veteran Alex Smith, who had fallen out of favor in San Francisco, and yet, has risen to the occasion in getting Kansas City to the postseason on a consistent basis.
“Got to win, No.1,” Dorsey said of important quarterback traits. “There are so many different variables that partake in that position. I think you have to have the physical skills that we all see. I think feet are important in today’s football. I think accuracy is very important. Do they have the mindset of the head coach? Can they comprehend and digest that playbook?
“I think that is very important, as well. Do guys naturally gravitate to him from a leadership component? What does he do in adverse situations? How does he react? Can he extend the play? Can he drive it and win it at the end of the game? These are the little things you look for as these guys play the game.”
