It's entirely understandable if members of the Cleveland Browns franchise question whether or not last year's first-round pick and presumed heir to the pigskin throne, Johnny "Football" Manziel, is really capable of fulfilling the inordinate promise with which he entered the NFL.
Manziel, after battling through a rookie season which saw him complete just 18 passes for 175 yards, along with tossing two interceptions and losing one fumble in five games of work, has been dogged this offseason by questions of his maturity, work-ethic and overall readiness to function as an adult, let alone a starting quarterback for an NFL franchise, culminating in an ongoing rehab stint, reportedly set to end sometime in the near future.
Despite the whispers and mounting concerns, there are still some members of the Browns who believe that Manziel can turn around his still-young NFL career.
Browns center Alex Mack appeared as a guest on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday and said that he believes Manziel "can be the long-term answer at quarterback" and that he doesn't think that Manziel has to earn back his trust.
Mack may be alone in his belief, but it has to be somewhat reassuring for fans in Cleveland to hear that a highly thought of member of the organization isn't ready to pack it in on the Manziel era.
Mack's fellow offensive lineman and team captain Joe Thomas recently sounded a much more dour tone, indicating that Manziel had lost "a lot of trust among the guys on the team last year by the way he handled himself once he became the starter," per NFL.com.
Former Browns safety T.J. Ward, now a member of the Denver Broncos, revealed to the Denver Post that he still keeps in touch with several players on the Browns and that the overwhelming feeling he got in communicating with them is that they're unsure if Manziel can become the quarterback the team hoped he'd be when they drafted him so highly.
"I still keep in contact with a lot of people out in Cleveland and they give me a little back story about what's going on sometimes," Ward said. "They just really don't know if he's the man or not, basically, and they're trying to get him to mature up and be that guy, but can he?"
It's a fair question, especially after an ESPN report emerged in the offseason detailing Manziel's alleged transgressions during his rookie year - transgressions which included a propensity for drinking and partying, showing up late or not at all and completely lacking any type of professional preparedness to his game.
If Mack, a former first-round pick and seven-year starter for Cleveland, believes Manziel can return, it says something.
It's not a lot, but Browns fans are probably willing to take something, anything amid this offseason of horrors.
