BEREA, Ohio -- There will be no debate, discussion or competition for the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback job.
After being acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Bills in the first hour of the new year in the National Football League Wednesday, veteran signal-caller Tyrod Taylor will be the Browns’ starting quarterback when the team reports for offseason workouts next month, through training camp, and barring injury, during the 2018 season.
“Tyrod Taylor is going to be the starting quarterback,” Browns coach Hue Jackson confirmed at the introductory press conference for the team’s new players Thursday. “There is no competition. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to do that.
“Tyrod Taylor is what was best for the Browns. He’s our starting quarterback and we’re excited about that.”
General manager John Dorsey added, “We did analysis as an organization and did what’s best for the organization by adding him.”
Jackson confirmed that the Browns “had overtures” with the Bills last offseason about acquiring Taylor but were unable to pull off a deal to get the starting quarterback out of Buffalo. However, now that they made the trade happen, the organization is focusing on the improvements that need to be made with Taylor under center.
“We’re going to get behind Tyrod Taylor, and guys are going to know he’s the leader,” Jackson said.
During his seven-year career with the Baltimore Ravens and Bills, Taylor completed 793 of his 1,271 attempts (62.4 percent) for 9,056 yards and 51 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. Of those 793 completions, 116 went for at least 20 yards and 22 more were 40-yard gains.
In his three seasons with the Bills, the last of which ended with the snapping of a 17-year playoff drought, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Taylor completed 774 passes for 8,837 yards and 51 touchdowns against 16 interceptions.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Taylor said. “You can definitely tell that with the moves that have been made, they’re trying to win now.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to help this team get going in the right direction and playing meaningful football in January.”
The prevalent opinion about the Browns’ acquisition of Taylor is that he will be a “bridge quarterback” between DeShone Kizer’s one season as a starter in 2017 to whoever the organization selects in the 2018 NFL Draft while grooming that young player for 2019.
However, that is far from the mindset of Taylor and the Browns going forward.
“I get tired of hearing that,” Jackson said. “This guy is the starting quarterback. If this guy gets us to winning and the playoffs, you won’t be writing about a bridge. He’s not a bridge. He’s our starting quarterback.”
Taylor added, “I don’t necessarily view myself as a bridge quarterback. Hopefully, I can ‘bridge’ this team to a Super Bowl.”
