The Cleveland Browns have struggled this season and heading into Week 5, Josh McCown remains the starter over Johnny Manziel at quarterback. Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell have both played well recently and fantasy football owners could look at both players as start options this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Browns nearly pulled out the win against the Chargers, but they lost on a field goal as time went down and now they head into a big divisional game next week. According to Pro Football Talk, head coach Mike Pettine said that he plans to continue starting McCown and that he felt the QB played well on Sunday despite the loss. McCown completed 32 of his 41 passes and had 356 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
McCown was knocked out with a concussion in Week 1 against the Jets and that left Johnny Manziel to start in Week 2. Manziel led the team to a win, but Pettine opted to go back with McCown once he was cleared for his concussion. McCown played well on Sunday and as long as he continues to do that, Pettine likely will continue starting him, even if it doesn't result in wins. Manziel showed some flashes in the win against the Titans, but he still has to show the team that he can be a consistent quarterback in the NFL.
The Browns rushing game has two solid players in Johnson and Crowell and while Crowell is the clear starter at this point, fantasy owners should look at Johnson as a good option to grab. Crowell has 191 yards on the season and had 12 carries last week, which was more than Johnson. But Johnson has been quietly putting up some solid numbers, as he had nine catches on 10 targets for 85 yards and a TD last week. Johnson is a great FLEX pick and a good PPR starter.
The Browns have had Dwayne Bowe taking up a roster spot since signing him this year and he has not done much for the team at all. Mike Pettine said that Bowe was not getting released and that it's a "long season," but the receiver went catch-less and was only targeted once against the Chargers. The Browns also had Joe Haden out on Sunday, as Pettine said that the cornerback made the decision that he could not play while dealing with rib and finger injuries.
Check here for more on the Browns, McCown, Johnson, Manziel and the team into Week 5.
The Browns also got their front office semi back to normal this week, as general manager Ray Farmer finished his suspension and returned to the team. Farmer was previously hit with the suspension for text messaging to the sidelines last season and now he is back. Famer has his work cut out for him, as the team is just 1-3 after losing to the Chargers and they have to find a way to get things together. The team has made some major decisions while Farmer has been away, including releasing Terrelle Pryor, adding Robert Turbin and trading Terrance West.