Patriots V.P. of player personnel Nick Caserio wouldn’t deem Jimmy Garoppolo off the market during a Tuesday press conference, offering a reminder that there is still time for trades to happen before the start of the draft next week and that the Browns are still in the market for an addition at the position.
The only one they’ve made so far this offseason is Brock Osweiler, whose acquisition in a trade was deemed an afterthought to the second-round pick the Texans sent the Browns to remove Osweiler from their roster. The holdovers from last year are Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler, who started eight games as a rookie and said he’s continuing to prepare as if he’s the starter heading into next season.
“Last year, I obviously was the third-string guy, and I treated every week as the starter,” Kessler said, via the Akron Beacon Journal. “That’s the same mindset I took this offseason, whether that’s reality Week 1 or not. You have to take that approach. You have to prepare offseason and in-season, week in, week out, as if you’re the starter. That’s the mindset I’ve had. If you don’t, then you won’t be ready.”
Kessler had some success throwing short passes, but deep balls weren’t a winning part of the formula and he spent time working with quarterback tutor Tom House this offseason in hopes of improving that area of his game. If the Browns do make a trade or draft a quarterback in the first round, that probably won’t be enough for Kessler to be the starter but he’s doing what he can to fill the role should things play out in another direction.