The Cleveland Browns and Jacoby Brissett have been preparing for Monday morning’s news for months. Now they can, more or less, chart a path forward.
Brissett was brought in over the offseason to back up newly-acquired quarterback Deshaun Watson. Even when the Browns were targeting Watson it was well-known that a suspension was likely on the horizon, as the NFL was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against Watson.
On Monday, Judge Sue L. Robinson recommended to the NFL a six-game suspension for Watson. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell can choose a punishment of his own, but for much of the process the expectation has been that Goodell would heed Robinson’s decision.
But what we can now assume is that Brissett will be under center for the Browns when their season kicks off and very likely through the first six weeks of the season. Maybe the Browns make an addition during camp, but until then it should be expected that Brissett will lead the Browns while Watson is suspended.
Chuck Pagano, who had Brissett as his quarterback during his last year as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, thinks the 29-year-old is up to the task.
"Jacoby, we had him in 2017, has been (in Cleveland) since March, so he’s gone through the entire offseason program," Pagano said Monday on the "Pat McAfee Show" after the Watson news came out. "Baker (Mayfield), like you said, they kicked him out of the building, he’s now in Carolina. So, Jacoby got the lion’s share, if not all the reps in OTAs. So, it’s not going to be an issue like when he came to Indy in 2017, Sept. 2nd I think we traded for him, he didn’t know the playbook. He didn’t even know the guys in the huddle, let alone get in the huddle, call the play, get to the line of scrimmage, change the protection, ID the mike, all that stuff, change the snap count. He had nothing.
"So, he’s had the entire offseason, he knows the playbook, he knows the personnel, he’s got chemistry with the players. Jacoby is a stud, he’s an absolute stud. He started 37 games in the NFL, he’s got all the metrics that you need to be an NFL quarterback. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s talented, he can make all the NFL throws and he’s smart."
Brissett is a higher-end backup, but thus far hasn’t proven to be a long-term option as a starter. Despite that, the Browns are about as good of a spot as could be for Brissett given how run-heavy the offense figures to be with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. He shouldn’t need to be called upon to save the day with his arm all the time.
It might not be an ideal situation for the Browns, but it is one they knowingly chose to walk into. That said, Pagano seems confident that Brissett can keep the Browns afloat while they are without their primary option.
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