The Cleveland Browns arguably have needed a quarterback since about 1989. That’s the year Lloyd Burruss of the Kansas City Chiefs slammed into Bernie Kosar’s elbow on a safety blitz.

Kosar never seemed the same after that and four seasons later was unceremoniously released by head coach Bill Belichick, who cited “diminishing skills.”

The list of failures between then and now, spanning the old and new franchises, is too long to list, but suffice it to say the Browns are still looking for that “franchise quarterback.”

And now, just as they have a chance at Baylor’s Robert Griffin III simply by trading up a couple of spots in April’s draft, many fans seem adamantly opposed to the idea.

To the angry caller who left me a voicemail after last week’s commentary about Griffin being a no-brainer, you’re right: I don’t get it.

“He looks like a great player to me,” retired NFL executive Ernie Accorsi said Friday on ESPN Radio.

Accorsi knows QBs. He traded up to get Eli Manning for the Giants. Two Super Bowl wins later, that seems to have worked. He also obtained Kosar for the Browns, back when he was whole, in the supplemental draft in 1985.

Yes, playmakers are vital. But maybe it’s time to get a quarterback first and figure everything else out later. The great ones have this way of making surrounding players look better anyway.

So there should be no question about what the Browns need to do. Fans would be wise to get behind the move.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408 or smcclelland @DaytonDailyNews.com