BEREA, Ohio _ Browns rookie quarterback Cody Kessler is on the verge of going from No. 3 to No. 26 in a span of just three weeks.
Kessler began this season as the third quarterback on the depth chart. But after Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown suffered left shoulder injuries in the first two games, the third-round draft pick is preparing to become the 26th starting quarterback for the Browns since 1999.
Coach Hue Jackson hesitated to definitively answer when asked who'll start, then in a roundabout way said it will be Kessler on Sunday when the Browns (0-2) visit the Miami Dolphins (0-2).
"It'll be Cody," Jackson said Monday. "... Obviously, he's the next guy up. So Cody will be out there playing. There's no doubt about that.
"But I would like to go through the game plan, see where we are and watch a lot more of Miami and see what we need to do in order to put together an offense that has a chance to go out and compete, has a chance to score points and win."
Jackson ruled out McCown for the game in Miami and said the 14-year NFL veteran will be "week to week from there on." McCown suffered what Jackson described as a left "shoulder/clavicle" injury in the first quarter of Sunday's 25-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and pushed through pain to finish.
Last year, McCown suffered a season-ending broken right collarbone on Nov. 30 against the Ravens. He underwent X-rays on Sunday and an MRI on Monday for his most recent injury.
"I don't know that it's totally broken. I don't think that," Jackson said. "But I know that there's something that's not right. I think it's more of a deep sprain.
"I told our team we've got to do everything we can to protect our quarterback. This is a tough sport, and when those guys get hit, it's hard. But he's one of the toughest human beings I've seen play in a long time."
McCown started in place of Griffin, who's sidelined for at least 8-12 weeks and could very well be out for the rest of the season after suffering a fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder Sept. 11 in a 29-10 season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Griffin will be re-evaluated in a few weeks and may need surgery.
So the Browns will start three different quarterbacks in the first three games for the first time since 1988, when they went 10-6 and made the playoffs, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The modern-day Browns are more likely to finish with a record akin to that of the 2008 Kansas City Chiefs, who finished 2-14 and are the last NFL team to start three different quarterbacks in the first three games, per Elias.
Including starts by Johnny Manziel and Austin Davis in the final two games last season, Kessler would be the team's fifth different starting quarterback in five games.
"Still ain't rocked my world yet," Jackson said. "I'm still sitting here. As long as you guys still see me sitting upright, I'm going to be fine. This is pro football, and these things happen. Maybe not to this degree any place I've been, but I've been toughened before and I've been in the abyss before. We're not getting drug under. I promise you that. We're going to keep fighting, and that's what I told the guys."
Kessler is the only healthy quarterback on the active roster, but that will change soon because the Browns are searching for a veteran.
"It's important we get another arm on our football team as fast as we can," Jackson said.
Jackson declined to comment on whether the team will try to sign someone or trade, but he said it'll work out quarterbacks Tuesday at its headquarters. Free agents include T.J. Yates, Matt Flynn, Michael Vick, Charlie Whitehurt, Jimmy Clausen and the retired Jason Campbell.
"We'll do everything we can to see if we can help the position, first and foremost," Jackson said. "Obviously, Cody's got to be the guy, but we're going to also keep searching around and making sure that we cross every T and dot every I and see if there's somebody else out there that can help our football team."
Jackson said promoting rookie fifth-round quarterback Kevin Hogan from the practice squad to the 53-man roster is "a possibility."
There's also a chance Jackson will lean on quarterback-turned-wide receiver Terrelle Pryor for help behind center.
"We'll do what we have to do," Jackson said. "Somebody's going to play under center there, or we're going to get in the single wing _ one or the other. We're going to figure something out."
Kessler struggled in the preseason, and Jackson admitted he didn't want to throw him into the fire this soon.
"We're going to get a chance to see Cody play, and we wish it wasn't like this," Jackson said. "But this is how it is. ... I don't know if it'll stunt his growth. But it's either going to improve it or do something to it, right? Something's going to come from it. Something good or something bad. One or the other. We're going to figure it out this weekend, though."
The Browns chose Kessler in the third round out of the University of Southern California despite most draft analysts projecting him to become a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent. On draft weekend, Jackson boldly told fans "trust me" about the selection.
"Well, you're going to trust me this weekend," Jackson said Monday. "Here we go, right? So trust me, here we come. We'll see what that statement was all about."
Kessler believes he'll be ready because he's been preparing like a starter all along.
"I have nothing to prove," he said. "I've been like that my whole life. ... I never thought I'd get a chance (at USC) and I kept my mouth shut and put my head down and just kept working."
