Johnny Manziel has certainly not gotten his NFL career off on the best foot. After being a highly touted recruit coming out of Texas A&M, Manziel dropped in the draft before getting selected by the Cleveland Browns. He failed to earn the starting job over veteran Brian Hoyer and made no impact when he finally did get in the game before ending his season in injured reserve. Missed meetings and controversial house parties followed and now Manziel has admitted himself into a rehab program. However, the Browns are not ready to give up on their first-round pick just yet.
Owner Jimmy Haslam made it clear that the Browns were not dropping Manziel just yet. While the Browns owner did not exactly give a ringing endorsement for the quarterback's future, he did say it was too soon for any moves to happen.
"I think it's way too early to give up on Johnny," Haslam said, via ESPN.com." "I applaud him for raising his hand and saying 'I need help.' We're going to do everything we can to support him. Our primary interest is making sure that he gets well, if you will. Fixes himself. However long that takes, we're going to stand beside him. We hope Johnny can get that straightened out because we feel he's a really good athlete and can help our team. But the first thing he's got to do is get himself fixed."
The Browns might not be ready to move on from Manziel simply because their quarterback position is very up in the air at the moment. Brian Hoyer has a 50/50 chance of returning to the Browns in free agency. The veteran quarterback has made it clear that he intends to start in 2015 and is also keeping a very close eye on the developments of the texting scandal being investigated. Haslam says he wants Hoyer back, but is uncertain if the feeling is mutual.
"Brian is a potential option for quarterback, just like a lot of other people are," Haslam said.
Other people could potentially mean a rookie quarterback acquired in the draft. According to Haslam, it is general manager Ray Farmer's call if the Browns trade up for a player like Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston. The Browns have two first-round draft picks to play with and they could package them together in order to get the best available.
"One, that's Ray's call," Haslam said. "Two, we said we would do what's necessary to solve the quarterback situation. That will be a call that Ray will make."
