Johnny Manziel has gained ‘palpable … momentum’ in the Browns’ quarterback race
By Mike Dyce
The Cleveland Browns have a quarterback competition on their hands between veteran Brian Hoyer, who had a brief but successful run during the 2013 season before being injured for the season with a torn ACL, and rookie Johnny Manziel. Hoyer was always going to get the first shot at starting for the Browns, but it looks like Manziel is closing the gap and quickly.
From the Akron Beacon-Journal:
"Brian Hoyer will start Saturday night when the Browns visit the Detroit Lions in the preseason opener, but the momentum that rookie Johnny Manziel has gained in the quarterback derby is palpable."
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Manziel has slowly been getting more first-team reps this week in practice and playing well with the first-team.
“It feels a lot more comfortable for me,” said Manziel. “There’s still a long ways to go for me, obviously. I felt like if I kept working on this stuff, got more and more familiar with a certain play call, a certain formation, a certain concept, then in due time, I would get better.
“I think it’s good for me to get in with [the starters], and to run with the ones is a different pace, a different regime, really, so getting comfortable with them is just as important as any other group that’s out there. So I think it’s a great opportunity for me and one that I’m learning a lot from and having fun with.”
Browns head coach Mike Pettine wants to name a starter by the third preseason game, so it would be safe to assume that both Hoyer and Manziel would get reps with the first-team offense in the first two preseason games.