BEREA: Johnny Manziel is still in the doghouse, but the door is wide open for him to start again this season.
Coach Mike Pettine made it clear the Browns want to see Manziel and fellow quarterback Austin Davis play in the final five games.
The Browns (2-9) announced Wednesday morning Davis would start Sunday at home against the Cincinnati Bengals (9-2), but Pettine wouldn’t commit to a starter beyond this coming weekend.
He told both quarterbacks the starter would be determined on a weekly basis moving forward.
“It’s safe to say now that this is a weekly thing,” Pettine said.
Manziel, the 22nd overall pick in last year’s draft, was demoted from starter to third string last week because of his off-field behavior. But Pettine said “we’ll revisit” the situation when asked how the team would proceed if Davis were to perform well against the Bengals.
“These are two players that we both want to see play is the bottom line,” Pettine said. “I don’t want to declare, ‘Hey, this is what it’s going to be here on out.’ These are two young quarterbacks that have upside and we want to see what that upside is. So Austin’s the guy for this week.”
Davis always views the quarterback situation as week-to-week.
“You never know when somebody’s going to get hurt or circumstances change,” he said. “Just be ready to go and hopefully if you play well, you get to play another week and build off of it.”
He will become the 24th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999.
“I’ve heard that number tossed around,” Davis said. “But I guess I haven’t been here, so it’s hard to really speak on that. I just want to prepare and play my best.”
Davis relieved quarterback Josh McCown, who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a broken collarbone, and made his first appearance with the Browns on Monday night in their 33-27 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Davis finished 7-of-10 passing for 77 yards and a touchdown with a rating of 125.8. His 42-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Travis Benjamin tied the score 27-27 with 1:47 left. He also helped the Browns move into position for Travis Coons’ 51-yard field-goal attempt, which was blocked by defensive end Brett Urban and returned 64 yards by safety Will Hill for the game-winning touchdown with no time left.
Pettine said Davis’ performance influenced the decision to start him against the Bengals more than a desire to further discipline Manziel.
“I don’t want to get into [Manziel’s] punishment and length of it,” Pettine said. “I felt, given the circumstances where we had placed [Manziel on the depth chart] and what we had done as a result of what had happened, that Austin was above him and went out and played well and he deserves this opportunity. To me, it’s more about Austin and seeing what he can do than length of punishment.”
Manziel, 22, partied during a recent bye-week break, then lied to the Browns after a video showing him singing, dancing and holding a large bottle at a nightclub surfaced online. Manziel spent more than 10 weeks this past offseason in an inpatient rehabilitation facility specializing in alcohol and drug addiction treatment.
Last week, McCown was named the starter, Davis the No. 2 and Manziel the No. 3 as a result of the punishment. So Davis replaced McCown, 36, after he left the game with 8:29 remaining in the fourth quarter because the veteran suffered a season-ending fractured collarbone when defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan crushed him with 2:20 left in the third quarter.
Fans at FirstEnergy Stadium chanted for Manziel but got Davis instead. Everyone involved realizes more of the same could be in store against the Bengals.
“I have to do a good job of not letting it faze me, and I think the thing we need to remember is our fans are passionate and want to win and that’s something to be thankful for, honestly,” Davis said. “I appreciate that, so I don’t take things like that personally. I see it as they’re passionate. They want to win. We all do, and to play in front of a home crowd like that, I’ll take that any day.”
Before being disciplined, Manziel had the best game of his career Nov. 15 when he threw for 372 yards in a 30-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s 1-4 as an NFL starter, including 1-2 this season. He has completed 59.4 percent of his passes this year with five touchdowns, two interceptions and a rating of 88.4.
Pettine was asked if he has seen any signs Manziel is becoming disgruntled and might ask for a trade.
“I haven’t seen that,” Pettine replied. “I will keep it private, but we have had very good discussions about what has happened, what did happen and the future, and I see no indication of that.”
Davis, 26, signed with the Browns on Sept. 7 after going 3-5 as a starter for the St. Louis Rams last season. On Sept. 30, the Browns signed Davis to a two-year contract extension through 2017.
Although the Browns never promised Davis a chance to start when he signed, the organization expressed its faith in him.
“There was a, ‘We like what you’ve done so far and we believe that you can be successful,’ ” Davis said, “and I think that’s really important and gives me a lot of confidence.”
In 10 appearances with the Rams last season, Davis completed 180-of-284 passes for 2,001 yards and 12 touchdowns with nine interceptions. His rating was 85.1.
Pettine touted Davis as a cerebral player.
“He is as prepared as any quarterback that I’ve been around,” Pettine said. “He’s relentless in that way. ... He has rehearsed it so many times in his head that I think he gets the ball out and he’s decisive, maybe quicker than some other guys.
“So, I think, one, where we see the skill set is the intangible stuff. Two, I think the guys around him they respect him. They see how passionate he is. From a physical standpoint, he’s got some mobility. When the pocket’s clean for him and he can step up, he’s got some arm strength.”
Davis doesn’t take any opportunities lightly and certainly not his most recent one.
“I hate feeling unprepared for anything, especially being quarterback on an NFL football team,” he said. “I feel like there are so many people that are counting on you and looking at you to play well. The [idea] of letting people down just bothers me. So I think that’s where just the hard work and prep comes from. I just think it’s a big responsibility.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.