Apparently, it's damn-near-impossible to bench Johnny Manziel. Coach Mike Pettine did it in the days leading up to the Monday night game against the Ravens, presumably to teach the second-year quarterback a lesson about his professional priorities -- only to have the plan blow up in his face.
Incumbent Josh McCown suffered a broken collarbone in the Browns' latest demoralizing loss, and his season is over, Pettine announced on Tuesday. Which brings us back to Manziel, who has shown great on-field promise this season, even if his off-field decision-making remains shaky.
Last week, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said he supported the decision to bench Manziel "100 percent," but admitted it wasn't easy because the quarterback has played well.
"It's disappointing," DeFilippo said at the time. "I'm not going to lie. You have a player that I think we would all agree in this room has come so far from a football standpoint from the product he put on the field from a year ago. To go out on the road and play that way against a very good Pittsburgh Steeler defense, it's very disappointing. But at the same time, the decision was made and we're going in that direction."
As it stands, Manziel and Austin Davis are the only two quarterbacks on the roster. As of Tuesday afternoon, Pettine hadn't committed to either as McCown's replacement. He also didn't rule out adding a third quarterback to the roster - though, apparently, it won't be Terrelle Pryor, who was re-signed as a wide receiver, the story said.
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