For now, if the Jacksonville Jaguars lose quarterback Blake Bortles to injury, the team will lean on Cody Kessler to lead this football team.
The Jaguars traded a conditional seventh-round draft pick to the Cleveland Browns for Kessler, NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling reports.
“A mere one year after coach Hue Jackson asked reporters to trust his evaluation of the 2016 third-round pick, Kessler fell out of favor, beginning the 2017 season third on the depth chart behind rookie DeShone Kizer and former scout-team quarterback Kevin Hogan,” Wesseling wrote.
“Now Kizer and Kessler are gone, with Hogan hanging by a thread following the recent acquisitions of Tyrod Taylor and Drew Stanton.”
The Browns will take a quarterback with one of their two first round draft picks. The Jaguars may still look to select a quarterback in this year’s NFL Draft. Chad Henne, who had been with the team since 2012, signed with the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason.
“We are excited about the opportunity to add Cody as depth to our quarterback position,” said General Manager Dave Caldwell. “Despite being just 24 years old, Cody has already seen NFL game action and was very effective as a rookie in 2016, showing accuracy and efficiency in posting a quarterback rating of 90-plus. From our research and through getting to know Cody during the draft process, we know he is a smart, tough and competitive young man and we expect him to be a great addition to our quarterback and offensive meeting rooms.”
Cody Kessler, 6-1, 215, has appeared in 12 career games with eight starts for Cleveland after originally being drafted in the third round (93rd overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. Kessler has completed 139 of 218 career passes (63.8 pct.) for 1,508 yards, six TDs and three INTs for an 87.4 career passer rating. In 2016, Kessler set Browns’ rookie records for completion percentage (65.5 pct.), passer rating (92.3) and fewest INTs in a season (two).