One man’s demotion from the starting lineup is another man’s opportunity to shine and that’s playing out in Jacksonville this week.
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles is out of the lineup and left to say that “he would love the opportunity to play again” at some point in the future. Cody Kessler does not have to hope for that chance to come his way as he’ll be starting against the Colts and he said Wednesday that he hopes to make the most of it.
“As a competitor, I am excited,” Kessler said, via Jacksonville.com. “It is tough to get opportunities in this league. To have one, I am very excited. We have had a close quarterback room, so when things happen like that it is part of the business, but at the same time it is a little rough. Just moving forward on this side. It is a great opportunity for me this week. Hoping to get the guys to rally around me and turn this thing around. I am really looking forward to it.”
Kessler has had a chance to start in the past and the Browns lost all eight times that he was part of the first team. The Jaguars are facing an eight-game losing streak of their own and Kessler will try to avoid that fate against a surging Colts team this Sunday.
He won’t have left guard Andrew Norwell or running back Leonard Fournette on hand to help on that front and cornerback Jalen Ramsey may be out of the lineup as well, so it’s not shaping up as an ideal situation for Kessler to get things moving in the right direction. Opportunity knocks when it knocks, however, and Kessler will be charged with making the most of the hand he’s been dealt.