Berea, OH (92.3 The Fan) - Looking for a sign that things are changing for the Browns in Cleveland?
There will be no quarterback competition in 2018.
“[Tyrod Taylor] is going to be the starting quarterback,” Browns coach Hue Jackson announced Thursday after the team introduced five of their new players, including Taylor. “There is no competition.
"It is the first time I have had the chance to do that. That is what it does for me. It really gives me a chance to show the rest of the team who the leader of the franchise is. It is going to be Tyrod Taylor and we are going to get in line with him, follow him and he is going to lead this organization to winning."
Taylor will be the 29th different starter for the franchise since 1999, but with just one year left on his contract many already want to know, for how long?
"We want success, and we want long-term success with Tyrod," general manager John Dorsey said while avoiding answering a question about Taylor's contract. "Right now, he is our starting quarterback. Right now, I could not be more excited to have Tyrod as a Cleveland Brown.”
Both Dorsey and Jackson put to bed any talk of Taylor simply being a "bridge" quarterback for the franchise to whoever they select next month in the NFL Draft with the first overall pick.
“I get tired of hearing that,” Jackson said. "This guy is the starting quarterback on our football team. There are no bridge players. This guy goes out and gets this organization to winning and gets us to the playoffs or whatever all that is, none of you guys would be writing ‘bridge’ anymore. You would be talking about how this is your quarterback. I see this young man as our quarterback. If we draft somebody who in the future is a better player, that will all take care of itself in time, but he is not a bridge. He is our starting quarterback.”
In three seasons as the Bills' starter, Taylor completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 8,857 yards with 51 touchdowns, just 16 interceptions and a 92.5 rating.
“I’m a quarterback,” Taylor, who was interoduced earlier in the day along with four other new teammates, said. “As far as a bridge, hopefully I’m helping bridge this team to a Super Bowl. That’s the plan.”
Taylor already helped to end the Bills' playoff drought in 2017. He hopes to repeat the feat and end the Browns' 15-year drought, which is now the longest in the NFL.
"I walked into a similar situation in Buffalo where it was 17 years that we had not been to the playoffs and was able to help lead that group of players and that team to somewhere that city has not seen in a while," Taylor said. "Of course, it is a work-in-progress here. Putting my best foot forward, along with these guys here at the podium, as well as the guys in the locker room, to go out to change the culture here, as well.”
The Browns tried to acquire Taylor last offseason but were unsuccessful. They had better luck last Friday when they agreed to send the Bills their third-round pick - No. 65 in the draft for him.
“I’m very excited he’s here," Jackson said.
The acquisition of Taylor will have no impact on the Browns' draft plans, and conversely, should a quarterback be picked by the team, it will have no impact on Taylor's role either.
"I don't think that has anything to do with anything,'' Jackson said. "If that the decision we make as an organization to take a quarterback at No. 1, then we will, but Tyrod is the starting quarterback. That is not going to change that."
The Browns are expected to use the top pick in the draft on either Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen or Sam Darnold but Jackson won't be putting them on the field in September.
"There are a lot of things to learn," Jackson said. "We have played young players here the last two years and that hasn’t worked. Let’s just be honest. That hasn’t worked the best for us. We know that. I think grooming a young quarterback, letting him sit, learn, grow and understand what it takes to play in the National Football League is truly the way to do it. All situations are different. You go into this saying Tyrod is the starter, God forbid something happens, but we have to make sure we have other quarterbacks who are ready to play, too. Whoever the backup quarterback is will be a play away.
"We are going to draft a quarterback at some point here – I think we all know that – but again, that guy just needs to know the starter here is going to be Tyrod Taylor.”
