Mike Pettine calls Josh McCown the favorite over Johnny Manziel

It’s going to be another fun season for Cleveland Browns quarterbacks

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It appears the never-ending Cleveland Browns quarterback carousel will continue in 2015.

In an interview with Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Browns head coach Mike Pettine said that veteran Josh McCown is the heavy favorite over second-year quarterback Josh McCown to start Week 1. Pettine reiterated that McCown will take the first-team reps in training camp and seemed to imply there wouldn’t be much of a competition for the starting quarterback job.

"“We’re not going to start talking competition. Josh, like I said will more than likely be the starter going into camp and in the foreseeable future I don’t see that changing.”"

If McCown is indeed the starter Week 1, he will be the 23rd different starting quarterback for the franchise since it was reincarnated in 1999. Note that the Browns have used at least two different starting quarterbacks in 13 consecutive years and there will undoubtedly be calls for Johnny Manziel to start the first time McCown has a poor outing.

It might be frustrating to see the Browns sort of tread water like this, but naming McCown the initial starter is ultimately the right decision.

While Manziel obviously has much more upside, the Browns know what they have in McCown. He will provide solid at least marginal performances from the quarterback position while the team continues to amass talent elsewhere.

It’s totally unfair to write Johnny Manziel off after one terrible start in 2014, but he has a lot of work to do both on and off the field before he is ready to be an NFL starting quarterback. Pettine’s plan is to take it slow with Manziel, and it’s hard to argue with his logic. Putting Manziel right into a quarterback competition fresh off an offseason that included a 10-week rehab stint would be asking a lot out of the 22-year-old.

Eventually, Cleveland is going to have to commit to Manziel as the future, or dip back into the draft pool for a franchise quarterback. It didn’t make sense to do that this year, as the quarterback class was very weak beyond the top two overall picks. Meanwhile, the Browns added a strong draft haul, including potential defensive line stars Danny Shelton and Nate Orchard.

The decision to have McCown start probably doesn’t have a huge impact on a team that had a low chance of making the postseason anyway. Pettine’s plan to take it slow with Manziel and add talent elsewhere makes sense, but it unfortunately looks like another season will be marred by poor quarterback play in Cleveland.

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