Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine has seen the most recent video depicting supposed franchise quarterback Johnny Manziel out on the town in Austin, Texas and he's just as troubled by it as Browns fans likely are. That's the future of the franchise there, looking like a frat boy in the club, clutching a bottle of champagne and bobbing his head along to Future's "March Madness" as he points to the, no doubt expensive, watch on his wrist.
UPDATE, 4 p.m.: The Browns announced that Josh McCown will start on Monday against the Baltimore Ravens. Manziel has been moved to the third quarterback and is unlikely to start again.
Pettine, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, indicated his unhappiness with a video that, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, can't be that old considering Future's song only came out in March. Even though that was the excuse Manziel chose to roll with when confronted with the video's existence last week, a recent report from TMZ Sports suggested that Manziel spent the Browns' bye week partying in Austin. Cabot revealed that sources indicated Manziel did stop by a rooftop bar in Austin "at some point" on Nov. 20.
"I want to sit down and discuss it before I do a knee jerk and go off on a tangent," Pettine said Tuesday, via ESPN. "It's a little easier to handle when it's a one-time occurrence, but when it's repeat behavior it's a concern."
Now, Manziel isn't the first professional athlete to party and he certainly won't be the last. But he's a guy who struggled through an abysmal rookie season and wound up in rehab. He's done a lot of work this season to get back into the good graces of fans and coaches alike and even now finds himself the proclaimed starter for the rest of the season.
But an incident like this is troublesome not just because Manziel's struggled to keep himself out of trouble this season, but also because it may indicate he has an actualy alcohol issue causing him to act the way he does. The NFL just recently concluded an investigation into an incident involving Manziel and his girlfriend driving dangerously and acting erratic on an interstate highway. Alcohol may have been involved.
The video, along with his other priors, could now put Manziel's starting gig in jeopardy.
#Browns Pettine is obviously considering benching Manziel for #Ravens game: "it's disappointing. very"
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) November 24, 2015
Pettine reiterated that he'd seen the video and was still gathering info, but it sure sounds like Josh McCown is good to go if need be and may very well be called upon when the Browns square off against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday.
