The Cleveland Browns have been trying to remain patient and faithful to Johnny Manziel. After all of the off-the-field issues, the Browns have still been trying to hold out on their former first-round pick. Just recently they named the quarterback their starter for the remainder of the season. However, after yet another social media partying incident, the Browns might have lost the last bit of patience they had in Manziel.
Social media has not been kind to Manziel. Most recently during the team's bye week, Manziel returned to Texas where photos surfaced of him partying following a stint in rehab in the offseason. This did not sit well with the Cleveland Browns and now Manziel is being benched once again. According to head coach Mike Pettine on Cleveland Browns Radio, Manziel violated the trust of the team and is now the third-string quarterback as Josh McCown will start in Week 12.
"We all know what happened and what got put out there, and it led to much disappointment, frustration, however you want to term it," Pettine said , via "The Mike Pettine Show" on the Cleveland Browns Radio Network. "It was something we felt had violated the trust that we had put in him for the bye coming out of the Pittsburgh game. Everyone in this organization wants what is best for Johnny just like we do for every player in our locker room."
The question is where do the Browns go from here with Manziel. The quarterback has yet to prove that he can really be the future of the franchise. McCown is not the long-term answer, but it appears Manziel no longer is either. A trade is out of the question. According to ESPN.com, Manziel has no trade value and the Browns could end up releasing the quarterback after the loss of trust. That would mean the team would once again be starting from scratch at the position.
According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, the Browns are already planning on showing interest in Matthew Stafford if the Detroit Lions decide to make him available. Stafford would be a quality pickup for the Browns as he would give the team a definitive starting quarterback with no questions. The Browns could also try and swoop in for Sam Bradford or Kirk Cousins. If they opt to keep McCown around for another season, they could trade for someone like Mike Glennon or Zach Mettenberger who may or may not need a little more time to develop.
Pettine noted that the bye week was a test for Manziel and he clearly did not pass. At the moment, Manziel is not fitting into the vision of the Cleveland Browns and he could end up learning that lesson the hard. Way.
"You have a vision of what you want the team to look like, how you want them to handle themselves when they're out of the building," Pettine said, via ESPN.com. "We talk a lot about it ... so when things like this happen -- and not just him, but just in general -- any team when you have incidents like that [where] a guy knows that he represents more than himself and has issues off the field, it is frustrating."