Terrelle Pryor and Joe Thomas are right to be mad that Browns QBs are getting hit so much

After the Browns’ 24-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Cleveland wide receiver Terrelle Pryor and left tackle Joe Thomas voiced their frustration about the hits Cody Kessler and Josh McCown took during the game.

On Monday, Hue Jackson said it wasn’t Pryor’s job to say the quarterbacks need better protection.

“We can’t keep getting these guys hit,” Pryor said after the loss. “I’m tired of our guys getting hit, and I’m nobody to complain, because I don’t run it, but it’s personal for me because I care for those guys, and I don’t like seeing them get hit like that. Point blank, period. Somebody’s got to say it. I’m going to say it.”

Jackson said he spoke with Pryor about his comments, and according to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, said Pryor “was awesome.” Still, Jackson doesn’t think it’s Pryor’s place to criticize the Browns’ pass protection.

The Browns have allowed 38 sacks so far this season, and eight of those came Sunday in the loss to the Steelers, including the brutal hit Lawrence Timmons put on Kessler that knocked Kessler out of the game with a concussion.

It’s the second concussion this season for Kessler, and Jackson acknowledged Sunday that it may put the remainder of Kessler’s season in jeopardy.

Left tackle Joe Thomas was also asked about the hits on the Browns’ quarterbacks following Sunday’s loss, and Thomas made some pointed comments about the departures of center Alex Mack and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz in free agency.

“You’ve got to lie in the bed that you’ve made,” Thomas said via Cleveland.com. “We lost a couple really good players, I think the best at their position. But that was our strategy in the offseason. That’s what we decided to do.

“The guys that are making the personnel decisions, they’re the experts on that, so they’re the ones that have to make those decisions and look at those decisions when they’re made.”

Jackson said Thomas’ perspective is coming from “a good place.”

Browns players are exasperated because the team is winless through 11 weeks of the season, and the hits Cleveland’s quarterbacks keep taking are a big part of the problem.

Cleveland has had six different quarterbacks under center this season because of injuries, including Pryor, a former college quarterback. Browns quarterbacks are being hit too often to offer consistent play, and having to rotate in other players at quarterback because of injuries deprives the offense of the continuity it needs to win games.

It’s been a devastating season for Browns quarterbacks in terms of injuries, and it’s understandable that Pryor and Thomas don’t want their teammates’ health to continue to be in jeopardy. Robert Griffin III was placed on injured reserve after fracturing his shoulder in Week 1. McCown has finally returned after recovering from a hairline fracture in his shoulder in Week 2, and Kessler is on his second concussion.

Even veteran journeyman Charlie Whitehurst, who was brought in to back up Kessler out of necessity, left the Browns’ Week 5 matchup against the Patriots briefly with a knee injury.

The NFL is physically demanding, and players understand that, but it isn’t unreasonable for Pryor and Thomas to want to see the Browns protect their teammates at quarterback and keep them from further harm.

Jackson said Monday via Cabot that the Browns have “to continue to have each other’s backs,” and in voicing their concerns about Cleveland’s ability to protect its quarterbacks, that’s exactly what Pryor and Thomas are doing.