It's hard to maintain perspective when it comes to Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel. Since being drafted in the first-round last year, Manziel has operated at the extreme ends of the quarterback spectrum. His rookie season was nothing short of disastrous as he failed to throw a single touchdown pass across five game appearances. However, this season he has shown progress filling in for an injured Josh McCown.
Through two weeks, Manziel is only completing 53.8 percent of his passes, but he has thrown for 354 yards with three touchdowns against one interception and led the team to a 28-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Granted, he hasn't been asked to make a ton of throws. But he's been effective when called upon. Despite this, McCown has been named the starter for this week's game against the Oakland Raiders following his clearance from a concussion. That begs the question, is Manziel still in Cleveland's future plans?
"From everything I've heard, whether it's our GM or owner, that's still the case [as] far as I know," Manziel said when Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer asked if he was still the team's QB of the future.
McCown, 36, led the Browns down the field in the team's opening series of the regular season against the New York Jets. He completed 5-of-8 passes for 49 yards while rushing for 23 yards on the ground. However, he suffered a concussion on the last play of the drive after he took a massive hit while trying to leap into the Jets' end zone.
Does McCown give the Browns the best chance to win right now? Perhaps. But sooner or later, Cleveland is going to have to find out what they have in Manziel. The only way they can do that is by playing him. Maybe coach Mike Pettine isn't willing to risk his job on Manziel, which can be understood in the "Not For Long" landscape of the NFL. But well into his second season, we still have no idea what Manziel can be in the league.
