Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine has said that veteran Josh McCown is "firmly the No. 1" quarterback on the roster, but that 2014 first-rounder Johnny Manziel could win the job with good performances in training camp and the preseason. Anyone who watched Manziel play during his disappointing rookie season knows that he desperately needs a few quality performances right about now. Fortunately, he'll get his chance as Pettine will give him some time with the starters during today's scrimmage.
Johnny Manziel will get time with starters during Friday scrimmage but Mike Pettine added Josh McCown is "firmly the 1" #Browns
— PatMcManamon (@PatMcManamon) August 6, 2015
"You want to mix up the supporting cast," Pettine said via ESPN Cleveland. "Josh will not go with the 2s, but guys competing to be your No. 2 quarterback - it happens every season - he's going to have to play with that group. You don't want the first time to be in a game. I wouldn't read too much into it that he's going with the 1s."
Giving first-team reps to backups is nothing new as both Thaddeus Lewis and Connor Shaw will likely see similar action throughout camp as well. Coaches don't want a quarterback's first experience with the starters to come during the regular season for obvious reasons. But it should be noted that Manziel has been playing well through the first week at camp.
ESPN Cleveland tracked Manziel and McCown's play throughout Wednesday's practice and the numbers worked out in the former's favor. Johnny Football unofficially completed 12-of-16 passes while McCown connected on just 9-of-17 with one interception. Again, these numbers are unofficial and are coming during training camp, but any positive signs of development from Manziel have to be welcome news for Browns fans.
"I still feel coming off the field the last couple days I'm still leaving things there that I want to do better," Manziel said. "But it's night and day difference from last year, night and day from the first day coming out here. I'm pleased with the progression, coming out some days and having a high completion percentage and getting the ball to where it needs to go. There's little things that are keeping me from taking another step. These preseason games will be a good test to really evaluate that."
