The Cleveland Browns are trying to figure out the best route to take with Johnny Manziel. The quarterback is expecting to be investigated by the NFL following a domestic argument with his girlfriend where the cops were called. The Browns could easily put Manziel on paid leave while that is taking place, but a shoulder injury to Josh McCown has the team saying otherwise while head coach Mike Pettine continues to stress Manziel is part of the team moving forward.
Manziel is still at practice and on the field for the Browns and general manager Ray Farmer stated that it will stay that way. While reports of an in-team suspension were surfacing, Farmer made it clear that per NFL rules Manziel cannot be suspended since the NFL is the only body that has that authority. The Browns could make Manziel inactive, but Farmer stressed they opted not to do that based on information they had regarding the incident.
"Any time there's questions marks, we follow up," Farmer said, via ESPN.com. "Like I said in my statement, I had my conversation with Johnny. I'm not going to make that public. That conversation is private, and should be. He knows where I am, and I know where he is."
So Manziel stays put, but is he going to get a chance to start again? According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, McCown is dealing with a shoulder injury and while an MRI revealed the matter is not serious, Manziel could see playing time. Head coach Mike Pettine told the media that only if McCown is truly unable to get on the field will Manziel play.
"If our starting quarterback is physically able to play, will we play him? Yes," Pettine said, via Cleveland.com.
The Browns will have a lot of hard decisions to make in the coming months. McCown is not a long-term option and neither is Manziel at this point. They had the chance to get someone like Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston in the draft and opted not to. Now the Browns will have to take a look at other options in the coming offseason. Until then, Farmer is stressing that Cleveland must try and figure this season out as they have just two wins on the season.
The Browns are being haunted by offseason mistakes. Dwayne Bowe is nowhere to be found. Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson are struggling to keep the run game going while Robert Turbin's role is nowhere near what they thought it would be. Heading into a tough game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Browns need to figure out what the issues are.
Urgency is what prompts everyone to get better and to look at themselves," Farmer said, via ESPN.com. "I think Pett (coach Mike Pettine) said it at his press conference -- nobody is panicking. The opportunity for us now is to go out and do the things that we know we're capable of doing. Should we have won some games, could we have won some games? Absolutely. Did we win them? No. So the NFL says you are who you are, you are who your record says you are."
