Cleveland Browns May Have A 'Matt Flynn Situation' Coming This Offseason

The Cleveland Browns kick off their rookie minicamp this weekend, and there are sure to be plenty in attendance. It’s the kind of thing that happens when you select 14 players in the NFL Draft.

Obviously, there are a lot of players in Cleveland’s latest draft class people want to see take the field. Corey Coleman and the rest of the band of wideouts the Browns selected. Defensive ends Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib. Linebacker Scooby Wright, labeled by many as one of the steals of the draft. These are all names to keep an eye on come this weekend.

For me, I’m looking forward to seeing quarterback Cody Kessler. Seen as the most divisive player selected this year, the USC standout will no doubt have plenty attention coming his way.

Personally, I want to see what Kessler can do specifically because of a gut feeling I can’t seem to shake. It’s all based on the reaction to his selection, both from fans and pundits, as well as coach Hue Jackson.

I’m not guaranteeing anything, just playing off instinct. However, I can’t help but think the Browns may have themselves a situation similar to the one the Seattle Seahawks ran into back in 2012.

We all remember how quarterback Matt Flynn became an oddly hot commodity after the 2011 season. Thanks to the then-Green Bay Packers backup torching the Detroit Lions in a throwaway Week 17 game, he was suddenly viewed as a major free agent. The Seahawks eventually signed him to a $20.5 million deal, which was quite a head-scratching moment since Flynn was hardly seen as a proven starter.

However, while it was initially assumed Flynn would start for Seattle in Week 1 of the following season, this never came into fruition. He was beat out by the Seahawks’ third-round selection, quarterback Russell Wilson. Before you knew it, Flynn was a forgotten man while Wilson surprised everyone by becoming one of the league’s best QBs.

Now, I’m not saying we’re about to watch Kessler go through the same situation four years later. However, the similarities between the two situations are a bit eerie.

Like Seattle, the Browns appear to be hitching their wagon to a quarterback many feel hasn’t earned a starting job. Despite being a rookie phenom for the Washington Redskins in 2012, Robert Griffin III has endured an enormous drop in production. He wasn’t exactly sought after this past offseason upon becoming a free agent, but Cleveland brought him in anyway.

As the Seahawks did in 2012, the Browns passed on taking a rookie quarterback early in the draft despite not quite taking care of the position by signing Griffin. And, like what happened in Seattle, the quarterback Cleveland eventually selected – Kessler – was hardly seen as a true threat to unseat Griffin.

After all, Jackson has indicated on more than one occasion that Griffin is who he’s handing the keys to this season. This certainly appeared to be further hammered home by the fact Cleveland traded out of the No. 2 overall pick this year, passing up on Carson Wentz and many other highly-rated QBs.

Heck, I even said it myself. It just felt like the draft cemented the fact it’s Griffin’s team now, and his job is locked up.

Yet, as the days passed, I wasn’t as convinced Kessler was destined to be a backup. Something about it all seems like we should expect it to play out differently.

Jackson and crew have bent over backwards trying to convince everyone not to sleep on Kessler. The way Cleveland’s coach talks about his rookie quarterback implies he’s who the team wanted all along. Kessler’s selection wasn’t just taking a QB to say they did. Jackson and VP of football operations Sashi Brown rave about him with such conviction you can’t help but think, “Maybe they really do believe he could win the job.”

The more I think about it, the less surprised I’d be if, as happened with Flynn, an unheralded rookie quarterback jumped in and snagged the starting job Griffin thought for sure was his. Kessler, who everyone has doubted since the minute his name was tagged to the Browns, could sneak in and become the Week 1 starter.

Again, I’m not guaranteeing anything. However, it wouldn’t hurt to start considering such a scenario as more possible than you’d think.