Johnny Manziel set to return to starting role

Following a 37-3 drubbing at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals, it has been reported that beleaguered quarterback, Johnny Manziel could be handed back the starting responsibilities in the Browns’ next four games. Reports further claim that head coach, Mike Pettine will officially announce his decision on Monday afternoon or evening.

During the embarrassing loss to the Bengals, starter Austin Davis failed to lead the Cleveland Browns on a single touchdown drive and threw an interception. Meanwhile, Josh McCown is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a broken collarbone which means that Manziel has been presented with another opportunity to seize the starting position which he lost a couple of weeks back.

The young QB was benched by the head coach after a video of the quarterback surfaced while he was partying in Texas.

Even during the 33-27 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 12, fans were chanting his name but the former Heisman Trophy winner never got called into action by his coach.

So far, Manziel has featured in six games this season for Cleveland. The Bears have lost five of those games featuring Manziel. He has completed 59.4 percent of his passes this year for 933 yards, five TDs and two interceptions. During the defeat to Pittsburgh Steelers, Manziel was fairly impressive with 372 passing yards of 45 throws.

The current 2-10 season is already a lost cause for the Browns but they still need to find out whether Manziel is a franchise quarterback or not. At the age of 23, he has a long way to go but the manner in which he has carried himself has put a lot of doubts in people’s minds about his long-term future in the NFL.

Cleveland are set to play the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs and the Steelers in their remaining games of the season. With 49ers the only underperforming team of the lot, Manziel really needs to prove his worth against some decent franchises if he really wants to keep his spot on the roster heading into the offseason.

While Mike Pettine has been hesitatnt in announcing his starter after a morale-jarring loss, it is clear that Manziel will get another shot.

“We’ll get a chance to watch the tape and we’ll all circle back and see where we are with it,” said Pettine.

Sitting Manziel a second straight week was a tough decision but the right thing to do since it was the QB himself who lied to his coaches about partying over the bye week. He divides opinion, shows flashes of brilliance and always seems to be this close to self-destruct but for the remainder of the season, Manziel is the best bet the Browns have at salvaging some pride in what has been a dismal season.

However, even if he manages to do well, it remains to be seen if he will stay in Cleveland. The Browns could have the No.1 overall pick which means they will have a clear shot at acquiring the best quarterback in the country but before that, they need to know if Manziel is worth keeping or if he can really live up to his potential and turn out to be a mature and trustworthy part of the franchise.