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Cleveland Browns not giving up on Johnny Manziel

By Patrick Schmidt

Dec 14, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) rolls out during the third quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Bengals beat the Browns 30-0. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 14, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) rolls out during the third quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Bengals beat the Browns 30-0. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /
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The question who will be the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback is up for debate, but one thing that isn’t is the Browns aren’t giving up on Johnny Manziel.

Johnny Manziel was the second of Cleveland’s two first round picks less than one year ago, but are they seriously considering giving up on him so soon?

According to Chris Mortensen, he said the Browns were 90 percent done with Manziel earlier this offseason when Manziel was in a rehab facility receiving undisclosed treatment. With Manziel out of rehab and a part of the team’s offseason training activities he is working toward being a good teammate and competing for playing time.

Browns head coach Mike Pettine spoke to the media on Tuesday morning where he fielded a number of questions about the quarterback position and if Manziel is still a part of the team’s plans.

“He’s very much in our plans,” Pettine said, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. “His career with us just hit the pause button (during treatment). He’s got to get himself right as a person before we worry (about the rest).”

Giving up on Manziel after one season, albeit a disappointing rookie season, would have been so shortsighted, so what did Mortensen mean when he said the Browns were “90 percent done” with him? How do you even begin to quantify that?

According to Nate Ulbrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, Pettine thought that was a pretty ridiculous comment.

Pettine went on to say Manziel was able to workout during his two-month stint in rehab and he’s been “just one of the guys” around the team and even stayed late after workouts on Monday to put in extra work as he tries to make up for lost time.

The Browns clearly saw a lot in Manziel to trade up in the bottom of the first round to select the former Heisman Trophy winner at Texas A&M and they’ve supported him throughout his off-the-field troubles and Pettine said Manziel wants to be judged by his actions moving forward.

He’s fortunate to have the support of Pettine, his teammates and the organization as he gets his life together and later tries to help the team win some football games. Throughout this process, the Browns signed quarterback Josh McCown to be the presumptive starter this year and have been linked to trading up for Marcus Mariota.

That signing and draft rumors don’t lend much credence to the notion that Manziel can reclaim the starting quarterback job, but they aren’t casting him aside and they’d love if he fulfilled the promise and potential they saw in him last year when they drafted him in the first round.

It’s never too late to grow up and show you’re dedicated to your craft so hopefully for Manziel’s case he has done just that and he’s ready to make up for time lost when his career was on pause.

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