A step up at quarterback

It took him a while, but Browns General Manager John Dorsey finally found Tyrod Taylor’s backup this season.

Signing Drew Stanton to a two-year contract Sunday all but signaled the end of the careers of Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan in Cleveland.

Depending on how Hue (Trust Me) Jackson wants to align his quarterbacks, Stanton will be either Taylor’s caddy or the club’s third quarterback if the coach wants to elevate the club’s first draft pick to backup.

Either way, the Browns get an experienced career backup who most likely will share mentor roles with that top draft selection throughout at least the 2018 season, if not beyond.

In seven National Football League seasons, the new Cleveland quarterback has started 17 games and won 11 of them with Detroit and Arizona with a brief stop in Indianapolis in between.

All but four of those starts were with the Cardinals, including four last season – he won three – after Carson Palmer went down with a broken arm.

Stanton is one of those rare quarterbacks just good enough to be a backup, but falls far short in becoming a starter. And that is what Dorsey obviously was looking for.

The thought of Kessler, who preceded Sam Darnold at USC, and Hogan backing up Taylor apparently was anathema to the GM. If neither man could not beat out rookie DeShone Kizer last season, they don’t belong on the new revamped roster.

It will be interesting to see whether Dorsey invites either or both young men to training camp this summer.

While not the perfect backup, the soon-to-be 34-year-old Stanton is clearly a step up from last season. And he will have a lot in common with many members of his new team.

The 6-3, 240-pounder, selected by Detroit out of Michigan State by Detroit in the second round of the 2007 college draft, was a member of the winless 2008 Lions team that lost all 16 games.

Now fans have a new name to chant when they are dissatisfied with Taylor. After all, isn’t the backup quarterback the most popular player by the fans in that instance? Unlike last season, there is no need to worry this season. Stanton’s arrival is a definite step up.

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