Hue Jackson and the Browns have made it clear they want to get the quarterback position right. It's something the first-year coach has spoken of since coming to Cleveland and he reiterated as much following the conclusion of Cleveland's OTAs on Wednesday.
"I want to feel very good — myself, the staff — naming that guy because it's more than playing the position, I hope you all understand that," he said.
And against that backdrop, Jackson said the Browns aren't ready to name a starter at quarterback as they continue to carefully evaluate a position group that includes Josh McCown, Robert Griffin III, Austin Davis, Connor Shaw and rookie Cody Kessler.
"There's more to it than that. There's a lot of different hats that man wears. And I have to make sure for our football team, for our city, for our opportunity to win, that we make the right choice and not the fast choice."
Jackson said he's watched improvement and progress out of the QB room, "but we still have a little bit more that I need to see to feel very comfortable and confident saying, 'This is our guy.'"
Indeed, the team's five quarterbacks — who all bring a different set of skills to the table — are still competing to earn the right to lead Cleveland on offense next season.
The Browns took to the practice fields for their final offseason training activity of 2016 before next week's minicamp.
"I think they're all competing extremely hard and extremely well and, again, I think when the time is right — trust me, you all will be the first to know — what that is that we're going to do," Jackson said. "But I feel very comfortable that we have enough candidates at the position that people are starting to emerge."
Browns associate head coach Pep Hamilton echoed a similar sentiment when peppered with questions last week about the quarterback competition.
"It all takes care of itself," Hamilton said. "Once we continue through the offseason program and get into training camp and whenever our head coach decides who 'the guy' is, everybody will rally around that guy. At the end of the day, we all want to win games."
Asked to evaluate Griffin, the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year who joined the Browns in free agency, Jackson said the former Redskins starter has made "tremendous strides" after sitting most of last season.
"He's getting better and growing each and every day. I'm very proud of the work he's put in. I've said it from Day One that all these guys have to just put their heads down and just work, and he's done that. It hasn't been perfect all the time but it's been really good and I see glimpses of it being extremely good," he said.
"And that's what we're chasing at every position. My goal is for these guys to be the best that they can be … it's our job to create the environment."
