Browns will leave OL in longer to make QB competition even in preseason games
By Mike Dyce
The Cleveland Browns don’t know who they;’re going to start at quarterback during the 2014 season just quite yet. They’ll be holding a quarterback competition to figure it out, a competition head coach Mike Pettine described as open.
More from Cleveland Browns
- Browns release 2022 draft pick after allegations he threatened a woman
- Browns wave white flag against the Steelers months ahead of time
- NFL Power Rankings: Who is the best quarterback in each division?
- NFL Power Rankings: Which teams will have the best rushing attacks this season?
- NFL rumors: DeAndre Hopkins reunion with former quarterback off the table
“I see it as open,” Pettine said. “Brian will be the guy there day one of practice. But we’re going to let them compete as best we can. We don’t want to overtax the offensive line and we want to mix and match the groups and we’re going to have a plan for it. We are going to have a sense of when we want to name the starter.
“We might know very quickly or we might take some time. There are some things open. We might let each one of them start a preseason game and we think they’ll both get some good reps in front of a big crowd at the Family Day (Aug. 2 at the University of Akron).”
The problem is keeping things even, one quarterback playing with the second stringers would be at a disadvantage.
“We definitely want to give them both a chance to work with the same supporting cast,” Pettine said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “You have to be careful who you put out there. What offensive line are we going to have with both guys that are potentially starters and that’s the down side.
“Your offensive line might get stretched a little bit with the quarterback competition. The starters might play a little bit longer than maybe you’re used to in the preseason. Those are decisions we haven’t made yet and there’s a lot of different ways to do it.”