Cleveland Browns: The Only Way Johnny Manziel Starts Over Josh McCown

Josh McCown and not Johnny Manziel is the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns.

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Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine could not be more clear on the state of his depth chart at the quarterback position if he were to hang a massive banner that featured his order of players from one of the ends of FirstEnergy Stadium. McCown, a 36-year old journeyman who is in the twilight of his career, was acquired in the offseason to serve as the starting QB for the Browns this season and as a mentor for Manziel in ways that Brian Hoyer never was during 2014. The first-team offense belongs to McCown for the now and the foreseeable future.

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Manziel was a college football phenom, a Heisman Trophy winner at Texas A&M given the nickname “Johnny Football” and a television and social media star who attracts national attention, positive and negative, whenever he does just about anything in the public eye. It has thus ignited some interesting conversations among analysts and fans of the Browns that Manziel has looked better during training camp than he did at any point during his disaster of a rookie season. There have even been suggestions that Manziel has closed the gap in an imaginary competition versus McCown.

That supposed competition is not even imaginary. It is non-existent. McCown and Manziel are not equals in the eyes of Pettine, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo and the rest of the Cleveland coaching staff. McCown is the aged tutor sharing his knowledge and experiences with the 22-year old Manziel until the second-year pro is ready to take hold of the keys of the offense; assuming that day arrives before the Browns choose to move on to a newest franchise-saving quarterback.

The Internet was made for hot takes and fake controversies, though, so let’s all have some fun and enter a fictitious world where Manziel and not McCown is the starting quarterback of the Browns on the afternoon of September 13. How did we arrive to this strange land? What all went right, or horribly wrong, to bring us to the point where Pettine and company are comfortable with making Manziel the starter roughly six months after he exited a rehabilitation facility? Is there a chance that any of this actually plays out in real life?

Sure. There is also a chance that I’ll hit the Powerball jackpot this week.

McCown would, for starters, have to be downright terrible during the final three preseason games or have to fall to a worrisome injury for Manziel to become even a contender for the starting gig. There have not yet been any signs of the former occurring, as McCown has been sharp throughout the summer. He went a perfect 5-for-5 and also drew a 35-yard pass interference penalty against the Washington Redskins in the preseason opener this past Thursday. McCown has also repeatedly been praised by other veterans on the offense of the Browns.

Durability could come into play. McCown has never, since entering the NFL in 2002, played in 16 regular season games during a single season. Injuries have plagued multiple teams during the early stages of the preseason, including a Redskins side that lost two players to serious knocks during the encounter with the Browns. McCown, like any player who steps onto the field for even an exhibition game, is one misstep or one awkward hit from being relegated to bystander duties.

McCown getting banged up or losing the fine form that he has had since the start of training camp would not be enough for the Browns to make Manziel the starter. Manziel would have to light it up in the remaining preseason games in a way that he has never done while in the NFL. He was unquestionably an improved product against the Redskins from what he displayed last season, completing 7 of 11 pass attempts, showing poise in the pocket and confidence, and locating the end zone on a 12-yard scramble to glory.

The Browns would understandably need to see more from Manziel. A lot more.

Just how much more? Perhaps numbers that Manziel nor any other young quarterback in his place could post considering all that has occurred in his professional and personal lives since the night of May 8, 2014. For fun, I’ll throw out the following statline for the final three preseason games: 30-35, 250 passing yards, 3 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD, 0 turnovers. Oh, and Manziel would have to be fantastic in the third preseason game that is often referred to as a dress rehearsal for teams. Anybody want to bet on Manziel hitting those numbers?

Even those two scenarios playing out may not be enough for Manziel to get the nod in September. Manziel would, last but certainly not least, have to get a vote of confidence from the majority of the veterans on the offense of the Browns. Left tackle Joe Thomas, who criticized Manziel for how the QB handled himself in 2014, has publicly commended Manziel several times since the start of training camp, and Thomas is not the only Manziel supporter inside of the Cleveland locker room.

There is, however, a massive gap that separates offering words of encouragement for a young man attempting to find his feet in the NFL from trusting that individual to win you regular season games.

The great irony here is that nobody who considers himself a fan of the Browns and/or of Manziel should want to see him start ahead of McCown in Week 1. It is best for Manziel and for the Browns that he learns from the sidelines and the classroom for as long as possible, ideally until the summer of 2016. One thing that has been learned over the past month is that the hype surrounding Manziel may be a shell of what it was last August, but it also won’t be disappearing anytime soon so long as he continues to perform well in practices and preseason games.

Johnny Starter? Probably not.

Probably.

Next: Manziel, Browns Getting Over Brian Hoyer Mistake

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