Browns’ GM Ray Farmer: Johnny Manziel is ‘right where he is supposed to be’
By Hayden Kane
The Cleveland Browns named Brian Hoyer their starting quarterback to open the 2014 regular season earlier this week. In terms of a football decision, that move was obvious and predictable to most others.
More from Cleveland Browns
- Browns release 2022 draft pick after allegations he threatened a woman
- Browns wave white flag against the Steelers months ahead of time
- NFL Power Rankings: Who is the best quarterback in each division?
- NFL Power Rankings: Which teams will have the best rushing attacks this season?
- NFL rumors: DeAndre Hopkins reunion with former quarterback off the table
The announcement also reflected the fact that the Browns made this decision separate from the hype, something that is not always easy to do. Hype often artificially inflates the value of a player or how ready they might be for the big stage. A reasonable case can be made that is the case with Manziel.
At this point Manziel is in the stage of his career that so many young quarterbacks go through; he is not ready for the pace or the playbooks of the NFL just yet, and so he will sit and learn by a veteran, albeit a guy with less raw talent than him. It is with that in mind that Browns’ general managerRay Farmer told Jim Trotter of ESPN.com that the team is perfectly content with where Manziel is in terms of his development at this point.
"“I think he is right where he’s supposed to be…I laugh because it’s four weeks into his first training camp and everyone is waiting to see Steve Young run out the tunnel. I don’t know where the reality in that lies…“…It’s like anything else. If you’re learning a foreign language, guess what, you’re not going to go to Spain tomorrow and in four weeks feel like you’re fluent in the language and just start talking. It just doesn’t happen like that. You may be able to communicate, but not effectively.”"
Manziel might be great and he might be a bust. The false urgency of the moment makes us want to determine right now which it will be, but that’s simply not how things play out. Right now, Manziel is just another rookie quarterback who needs to hold the clipboard and wear a headset for a while.