McCown suffered a left shoulder injury in a 25-20 home-opening defeat to the rival Baltimore Ravens, who mounted a huge comeback after the Browns put up 20 points in the first quarter. McCown started Sunday in place of Robert Griffin III, out for a minimum of eight games after he was injured in Week 1.
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McCown is not ready to commit to sitting, but if he can not play, third-round pick Cody Kessler probably would be the starter for week three against Miami.
Browns coach Hue Jackson talks with quarterback Cody Kessler. But Sunday’s game did have some positives that can be looked at as progress for a team not expected to do well this season, regardless of who lines up at quarterback. Taking a handoff up the middle, Crowell got an excellent block from fullback Malcolm Johnson, blasted through the secondary and went untouched for the second-longest TD run in Cleveland history. Last year McCown missed one game with a concussion, two with a rib/shoulder injury and five with a broken right collarbone. They’ll likely need to find a healthy backup for Kessler, as well, unless they opt to use their best receiver – Terrelle Pryor, who was a QB at Ohio State – as a second-string quarterback.
The Browns chose Kessler in the third round despite most draft analysts projecting him as a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent.
McCown grimaced in pain several times after being hit. “My mindset is that everything will be all right and we will move ahead business as usual”. Starting quarterback Josh McCown will undergo an MRI on Monday on his left shoulder, which was hurt pretty badly throughout the game against the Ravens.
“It’s a physical game and you always have to be ready”, Kessler said.
This misfortune also happened to Atlanta in 1986 and 1987 when the Falcons started Turk Schonert, David Archer, Scott Campbell, Erik Kramer and Jeff Van Raaphorst in consecutive games. Baltimore first found the scoreboard by blocking a Browns extra-point attempt and returning the ball for a safety.
Last week, prior to McCown’s injury, ESPN reported that Kessler “isn’t close to being ready to play – expectations for him aren’t particularly high”. “Maybe not to to this degree anyplace I’ve been”, Jackson said. So trust me, here we come. They went 10-6 and made the playoffs. The only other quarterback now with the Browns is rookie Kevin Hogan, who is on the practice squad. Jackson still has his sense of humor, but it could be tested in the coming weeks if the Browns, who play four of their next five games on the road, continue to lose quarterbacks at an alarming rate.
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“I am sure they feel like their backs are against the wall”, Harbaugh said about the Jaguars.
