The Browns Have Spoken: Manziel Will Not Start

Is it possible when Johnny Manziel takes a look back at all that has happened leading up to the Cleveland Browns naming Brian Hoyer the starter for the season opener, the rookie will say he should have done things differently?

Probably not.

Now that the first round pick knows his fate, it is time to move forward and learn, not complain about the situation he is in. Manziel’s antics, which includes a brashness many of us have not seen since the days of Joe Namath or maybe even Deion Sanders, are really his own fault. When you promote yourself as a partying athlete who hangs out in Las Vegas with Rob Gronkowski, enjoys the company of perennial bad boys Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Justin Bieber and then looks like a fool rolling $20 in a bathroom on social media, you cannot help but not feel sorry for this kid.

According to ABC News, the Browns rookie quarterback said Wednesday that he's disappointed he won't be on the field against Pittsburgh in the season opener on Sept. 7. Manziel knows he didn't do enough during training camp and the preseason to convince Coach Mike Pettine to choose him over Hoyer, who overcame a serious knee injury and then held off the first-round draft pick to keep the job.

Manziel believes the focus should be on Hoyer.

"I'm the backup quarterback," Johnny Football said. "I shouldn't be in the spotlight."

But isn’t that something Manziel should have been saying all along – taking advice from the likes of Joe Montana and Emmitt Smith, listen to what his teammates like newly acquired Ben Tate had to say, as the rookie had not accomplished anything yet in the NFL and was being treated as the best thing since the shotgun offense was invented?

Manziel said he has no regrets about the way he approached his competition with Hoyer, which ended after the Browns coaching staff met Tuesday night to evaluate Cleveland's two quarterbacks, both of whom have performed poorly.

The ABC News story said that Manziel was criticized for some weekend partying, but the former Heisman Trophy winner insisted he wouldn't change a thing. He's growing and maturing and hopes to one day lead an NFL team. This is all new to him.

"Obviously I need to do it in the proper way, but I'm still going to continue to have fun in my life and continue to live my life, and I don't think any of that really slowed me in this competition. I think more than anything, if you come out and play well, it makes the decision a lot easier."

Pettine announced in a release before practice Wednesday that he'll go with Hoyer, who made three starts in 2013 before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee last season. Pettine's decision ends weeks of competition and analysis, and the Browns are hoping it will allow Hoyer to relax and build some chemistry with Cleveland's struggling offense before they meet the dreaded Steelers, their long-time rivals.