Brian Hoyer ‘all for’ Johnny Manziel taking reps if Cleveland Browns win
By Cory Buck
Brian Hoyer may not be crazy about losing reps to a rookie quarterback he beat out in training camp, but if the Cleveland Browns keep winning games like they did on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, that makes things a whole lot easier to handle.
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“As mad as I was when he told me, I think it mentally helped me prepare for it,” Hoyer said per the Cleveland Plain Dealer when asked about the team opting to form packages for Johnny Manziel to play in against the Saints. “As much as it might irk me to go off the field, if it’s going to help us win, then I’m all for it.”
Manziel lined up under center for three plays against the Saints in the middle of a tough stretch for the Browns offense which saw the team squander a 16-3 lead. Two plays were hand-offs and another was a broken up pass before Manziel sat once again in favor of Hoyer.
“I thought we had stalled a little bit on offense and just wanted to see if we could catch them off-guard a little bit and get a spark. To their credit, they defended it well,” coach Mike Pettine said of Manziel’s time in the game.
To Hoyer’s credit, he elevated his game once more upon return, with his day culminating in a 14-play 85 yard drive that produced the game-winning field goal with seconds left. If the team keeps winning, expect Hoyer to continue to get the majority of snaps under center.