The quarterback drama will not stop for the Cleveland Browns. With Johnny Manziel under investigation with the NFL and Josh McCown dealing with a shoulder injury, the Browns are having more issues than they intended on heading into Week 8. With McCown still nursing the injury, Manziel could be the starter despite the current investigation into a fight with his girlfriend.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, McCown was not at practice on Wednesday and Manziel could be the starter moving forward. The quarterback took starter reps during practice as the Browns are not certain McCown can play on his sore right shoulder. Right now, Manziel has other issues to worry about. Cabot reports the NFL is investigating his domestic dispute between the quarterback and his girlfriend which caused the police to get involved. There have been no reports of potential punishment as general manager Ray Farmer told the media that only the NFL can suspend Manziel, but not the team.
The Browns are just trying to think about the game approaching as Manziel could get the starting nod. Head coach Mike Pettine credited McCown's toughness and said he could not be ruled out against the Arizona Cardinals. Pettine said that McCown would not need a lot of practice reps to get on the field.
"I think a big part of what we're doing now is the walkthrough stuff,'' said Pettine, via Cleveland.com. "The good thing about it is we're carrying over a lot of concept stuff that he's practiced, stuff that he's thrown in games. So as far as getting those actual reps in practice, at this point, it's important but I wouldn't put a ton of stock into it. We'll see where he is at the end of the week.''
While Manziel could be on the field in Week 8, Dwayne Bowe might be joining him. Bowe has barely been seen this year despite signing the nice free agent contract in the offseason. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Andrew Hawkins is dealing with a concussion which could get Bowe some playing time this week. He has been a healthy scratch the past three weeks after Pettine made it clear the veteran was not one of the top four receivers for the team. With Travis Benjamin and Gary Barnidge excelling for McCown, Bowe has not been needed. This might be the only chance he has to get on the field and prove he is worth the $9 million in guaranteed money.
