It's going to be a long road back to the top for Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Browns head coach Mike Pettine noted Monday in a radio interview that free agent addition Josh McCown will likely be the team's starting quarterback heading into training camp. Pettine was asked on 92.3 The Fan if McCown is "at least the favorite to be the starting quarterback," to which he replied, "I think it's fair to say that."
This may come as a bit of a surprise to some Browns fans after Pettine refused to give any indication about McCown's role one way or another nine days before the NFL Draft. To be fair, the Browns were still heavily rumored to be trying to trade up for Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota at that time and were also linked to QB Sam Bradford. Now that the dust has settled and neither is with Cleveland, Pettine must focus on who is on the roster.
"We're a ways away from just of worrying about how the depth part of it shakes out," Pettine said. "They're all in that room, and they're all trying to learn it. Josh, obviously, has an advantage having been in this system where there's a lot of carryover because he worked with (offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) Flip before. I know a lot of those similar roots are in there, but we don't really kind of get into depth charts and where guys are."
Despite McCown's familiarity with the offense, the veteran journeyman will still have to earn the starting gig through his on-field play.
"I'm not going to get into penciling in guys and say, 'Hey, this guy's a starter,'" Pettine said. "We thrive on competition. I'm not prepared to make that statement yet."
But yesterday, following a weekend's worth of draft drama, Pettine was willing to hint that McCown was the leader in the clubhouse over Manziel, Thad Lewis and Connor Shaw.
"Josh has proven in the right circumstances that he can be successful," Pettine said. "I think it was pretty clear to us when we looking into the results of what happened for him a year ago (1-10 in Tampa Bay) that a lot of those circumstance were outside of his control that made the year as difficult as it was.
"We just look back to when he was in Chicago when he had a pretty good supporting cast around him and he was able to be more than functional. He had a very successful year. When you build the team right, it minimizes the importance of the quarterback."
Pettine may be using some coach speak to downplay the team's question marks at the game's most important position.
The biggest question mark of all heading into the season is Manziel, who recently completed a stay in rehab following a highly disappointing rookie season. Although Cleveland used a first-round pick on Johnny Football last year, his play and off-field issues were worrisome enough that the team was seriously interested in Mariota and Bradford. Pettine and the front office may be saying all of the right things, but it's clear that Manziel's future with the team is up in the air.
