Report: Johnny Manziel to start Thursday for Browns

Nov 1, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) looks down field for a pass during the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Browns 34-20. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel will get his chance at revenge on Thursday night as he will be the Browns starting quarterback against the Cincinnati Bengals.

That is according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan, who says Manziel will step in for the injured Josh McCown.

Caplan’s report goes against what head coach Mike Pettine had to say during this Tuesday afternoon press conference.

“(Josh will) do some limited work today. We’ll see where he is,” Pettine said. “I know he’s sore, but the way that we’re practicing, he’ll be able to get some work. It’ll be similar to last week where we were prepared to go with Josh or Johnny (Manziel).”

“We’ll see where Josh is today and see where he is tomorrow. As the information becomes available, we’ll act on it.”

Despite Pettine’s comments, it is hard to see McCown being able to play against the Bengals, especially with just four days to let his 36-year-old body heal after Sunday’s beating at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals.

“It’s tough. It’s tough because the turnaround is so quick and you’re trying to get a practice in on Tuesday and so on,” McCown admitted on Tuesday. “It’s not the easiest, but every team at some point goes through it, Thursday games. The good thing is once you’re through with it, you get some rest on the back end of it so that’s the key, also. I think maximizing both those things, the work week and then rest on the back end.”

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If the Browns do turn to Manziel it will be his second career start against the Bengals and one would hope it couldn’t go any worse than the last time.

In his first career start, Manziel faced the Bengals last December and was woefully unprepared. During a 30-0 loss, Manziel threw for just 80 yards while being intercepted twice, sacked three times and finishing with a quarterback rating of 27.3.

It is a new day, though, and Manziel is not the same player.

“I think we saw that this year when he had to go into the Jets game. I thought he did some good things, made some mistakes, put the ball on the ground then had a week of preparation to get ready to Tennessee and went out and executed a game plan,” Pettine said. “I just think we’ve all seen it from going back to the amount of work in the spring to training camp. When the rush became live, I think that’s where you saw that he made his biggest improvement with his demeanor in the pocket. That it wasn’t as frenetic, that his feet were calm.

“I just think he has a really good understanding of what we’re doing, understands the plays, what’s designed for what. If I get pressure, I know I’m working this side, if I get zone I’m going to work a high-low against this defender. All the intricate details, he has a much better grasp of and it’s shown when he’s been out there.”

If nothing else, having Manziel at quarterback rather than McCown will make the folks at NFL Network happy to be televising the game.