CLEVELAND — Rookie quarterback Cody Kessler will be the Browns’ starter this week and the foreseeable future.

How long that is could be up to him.

Kessler, who returned to practice a few days ago after being sidelined since Oct. 23 with a concussion, will start Sunday as the winless Browns (0-8) host the Dallas Cowboys. Kessler has shown steady progress and Browns coach Hue Jackson wants to find out if he can be Cleveland’s long-term QB.

“That is why he is playing,” Jackson said Friday. “Because I need to know.”

Jackson is going back to Kessler after starting Josh McCown last week in a loss to the New York Jets. McCown had a solid game, but at 37, he’s not going to help the Browns beyond the next few weeks and Jackson must get a longer look at Kessler.

The Browns have two first-round picks in next year’s draft, and the way they’re headed they may have No. 1 overall. But before they reach the offseason, they have to figure out if Kessler can be the answer to their nearly two-decades-long search for a franchise quarterback.