Hue Jackson: Browns Need a Quarterback; Says He'd Label Manziel a Non-Starter if he Went to Vegas

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson continues to make the rounds on the radio circuit, and with each passing interview, he is becoming more blunt on his feelings that the team needs a new quarterback. When asked about the team's current quarterback situation and the possibility of drafting a quarterback on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM, here's what his response was:

"If there's a quarterback there at pick No. 2 of pick No. 32 that we feel is the best option, the best fit, for our organization, then we need to go get him. I do believe that this team does need a quarterback. Now, whether it was health issues or whatever it was last year, the position didn't play great. Josh McCown played great when he was healthy and did some really good things, but we also know he's getting up there age-wise. But McCown is very competitive and has done a great job. I think what we need to do is look to the future and find what we think is going to be the best fit for us and go from there."

Ouch -- that's not a good endorsement for the three quarterbacks on the active roster most of last season. While he seemed to appreciate what QB Josh McCown was able to do, Jackson wasn't gun-shy about basically saying that he's not viewing him as his starter in 2016. Jackson said that he had not spoken with QB Johnny Manziel yet, but would still try to evaluate everybody on the roster equally:

"I have not talked to Johnny yet, but I do know this -- I am going to do everything I can to evaluate him, first and foremost, just like I would any other player on our team, from the top player to whoever the last player is on our roster to give everybody a fair opportunity. Now, there's criteria that we're going to look at to determine if the players really need to be here or if they've earned the right to be here to be considered a Cleveland Brown."

When Jackson was asked specifically about the Vegas issue, he said that would indicate a non-starter in his book if found to be true

"Yes, [the Vegas trip] would be [the definition of a non-starter]. I think any time things are not done the correct way with any player at any position, would be a non-starter with me."