With absolutely nothing to lose, the Cleveland Browns have once again turned to Johnny Manziel to be their starting quarterback, in a job that will presumably last the rest of the season. To his credit, he is seizing the opportunity, as he had what was likely his best game as a pro last Sunday, leading the Browns to a victory over the 49ers. Really, though, the team didn’t have much of a choice; with Josh McCown out for the year, and Austin Davis ineffective in a blowout loss to the Bengals, what did they have to lose? In spite of this move — and Manziel’s surprisingly decent play this year — this doesn’t necessarily mean the Browns are even considering Manziel as a quarterback beyond this season.
One thing seems abundantly clear: Manziel and head coach Mike Pettine do not get along. It would appear as though the embattled Browns coach has done everything he can to not have to play Manziel, and is only playing him now because with the season long over, and Manziel still existing as a fairly unknown commodity, there’s no reason not to play him. The Browns should at least figure out what they have here, right? But while the remainder of the season appears to be entirely in Manziel’s hands, one can’t help but wonder if they will serve as nothing more than an audition for a potential job with another team.
Let’s be clear: there’s no way Pettine and Manziel are both with the team next year, unless the Browns are planning on creating the same hopelessly awkward schism that took place with Jay Gruden and RG3 in Washington this year. Now, one could argue that after a serious regression in his second year as the Browns coach, Pettine is likely to be fired at season’s end, but that doesn’t exactly guarantee a spot for Manziel, not when you consider everything the Browns have had to endure since drafting him two years ago.
The Browns will likely finish with one of the worst records in football, giving them the chance to start from scratch with a highly touted prospect like Paxton Lynch, Jared Goff, or Connor Cook. With that in mind, one might wonder why they would continue the Manziel experiment beyond this year when it’s caused so much problems already.
So, where might Manziel end up next? When we broach this question, the most obvious answer tends to be “either of the Texas teams.” Indeed, the Cowboys or Texans could each be intriguing destinations for Manziel. In Dallas, he would sit on the bench while the last few years of the Tony Romo era played out, which would keep him out of the spotlight, and give him a much-needed opportunity to absorb the NFL experience. Of course, Romo has been fairly injury prone throughout his career, which would mean the team could be forced to turn to Manziel at any unexpected moment. Whether he’d be able to handle the pressure in a situation like that remains to be seen.
As for the Texans, if he went there he might get the chance to start right away. Brian Hoyer has exceeded expectations this season, but the team is uncertain if he’s a long-term solution. Houston certainly could consider bringing in the hometown boy and seeing what he could do. This might be a workable situation from him; he’d have an elite weapon in DeAndre Hopkins, and a healthy Arian Foster returning next season could prevent him from having to do too much. The Texans QB job has been one of the most volatile positions in the league ever since Matt Schaub deteriorated, and it’s not inconceivable to think they’d give Manziel a shot.
With that said, Manziel certainly doesn’t have to end up in his home state. Let’s consider his potential compatibility with the 49ers, who seem to have moved on entirely from Colin Kaepernick. Blaine Gabbert has done a much better job than anyone might have guessed, but that hardly means their ready to commit to him long-term. It wouldn’t be shocking to at least see the Niners bring in Manziel and have him compete for the starting job. Additionally, the Eagles may be in the business of looking for a new quarterback, and if they don’t fire Chip Kelly (far from a given), Manziel would appear to make far more sense in his offense than Sam Bradfotd or Mark Sanchez.
So, there’s plenty of places where Johnny Football could wind up next season. It just doesn’t seem like the Browns are one of them. Admittedly, nothing is written in stone, Manziel played well against San Francisco on Sunday, and in general, he seems to have evolved as a player in his second year in the league. If his strong play continues in these final three games, that could compel the team to stick it out with him for one more year. Still, with all the difficulty that has occurred during his first two seasons in Cleveland, moving on might be the best option for everyone involved.
