Brace yourselves, America - Johnny Football is back. According to a Monday report from Chris Mortensen of ESPN, via Adam Schefter, the Cleveland Browns will make Johnny Manziel their starter for this weekend's matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
Johnny Manziel will return as starting QB for the Cleveland Browns after two-game benching for off-field missteps, sources told @mortreport.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 7, 2015
Manziel has performed well this season when given the opportunity, culminating in a strong effort against the Pittsburgh Steelers in which the former first-round pick threw 33 completions on 45 attempts for 372 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Manziel, who started the season as the back up to Josh McCown, but found his way into the lineup via injuries and strong efforts both in practice and during games, suddenly looked to be entrenched as "the guy" for Cleveland.
Unfortunately, a video emerged after the Browns' bye week depicting Manziel drinking at a party in Austin, Texas. Manziel, who had spent several weeks of the offseason at a rehab facility in an effort to curb his drinking and get his priorities in order, then reportedly lied to the team about the video and further, instructed friends and family to lie about the video.
Manziel was subsequently dropped to third-string and has now spent the last two games watching from the sidelines despite the season-ending injury to McCown and the abysmal play of Austin Davis this past weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals. Davis put together a 230-yard, one interception performance against a Bengals team that, with the victory, sewed up the top seed in the AFC.
Now, with a struggling Niners team coming to town fresh off an upset victory over the Chicago Bears in overtime, Manziel will get his chance to again lay claim to the Browns' starting gig.
At the very least, with other NFL teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles reportedly "looking hard" at a potential acquisition this offseason, Manziel playing out the string will provide a good barometer for Johnny Football's football future.
