It's Week 3 in the NFL, so it must be time for Quarterback No. 3 in Cleveland.
Yes, the bad-luck Browns are on their fifth starting quarterback in their last five games, their 26th since relaunching as a franchise in 1999. Rookie Cody Kessler from USC will start in place of the injured Josh McCown (shoulder), who had replaced the injured Robert Griffin III (shoulder).
Kessler, a third-round pick, was the sixth quarterback drafted last spring. The Browns, 0-2 after losing at home to the Baltimore Ravens, play Sunday at Miami.
"You'd love to have that luxury (of a veteran), but sometimes you're not afforded that," Browns coach Hue Jackson told reporters Monday.
The New England Patriots also are on their last-resort quarterback, rookie Jacoby Brissett, who will start Thursday in place of the injured Jimmy Garoppolo (shoulder). The Patriots will host the Houston Texans.
Technically, Brissett isn't a third-string quarterback, but only because Tom Brady is suspended for the first four games.
