Amid losses, Browns not ready to name starting quarterback

Returning Manziel to the lineup for the rest of the season would allow the Browns to get four more games of evaluation before a pivotal offseason.

If he plays poorly, that makes the decision on what to do with him in the off-season that much easier. That’s what losing does to you. “When you’re paid to be successful, when you’re paid to win in a bottom-line business and we’re not, of course there’s going to be tension”.

Dec 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill (32) runs against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Pettine, who has lost 15 of his last 17 games, acknowledged after Sunday’s loss that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam hasn’t given him any assurances that he will make it through the season.

“If you’re going to be successful, your building has to be unified”, Pettine said Monday.

“In this league, they get paid just like we get paid”, said receiver Marvin Jones.

Pettine said he expects to name a starter Tuesday.

“I think the knee-jerk reaction when things don’t go well is that everything’s wrong”, Pettine said. This decision did not have a uniform feel from the get-go. “I can’t say we’re all on board 100 percent”.

The Cincinnati Bengals (10-2) are coming from a 37-3 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Johnny Manziel received a belated birthday present Monday as he was renamed the Browns’ starting quarterback, according to ESPN.

The Browns turned to Manziel again this season heading into the team’s bye week, only to see Manziel spend the weekend partying and then compounding the situation by lying to the coaching staff when confronted with the evidence. I am hedging my bets on this because there are all sorts of random tidbits about Manziel’s status with the team.

If Pettine switches back to Manziel, it would be the fourth quarterback change in five games. This game went exactly how the Bengals planned it to go and that mixed with the Bengals’ blow out win last week has things going back in the right direction after the Bengals’ two game skid. “We have to make sure that we support our quarterback”. “We’ve got to figure out what are the exact problems first”.

Prior to playing in two games in six days, Davis had not been in a regular-season contest in more than a year, but drew praise from his teammates for leading a game-tying touchdown drive in the waning minutes of play.

Expect to see him show flashes of brilliance, but he has to figure out how to take care of the football before he can become a legitimate starting NFL quarterback.

And when was placed on injured reserve after breaking his collarbone last week, Davis got bumped up to the starting spot. However, only two games may be flexed into Sunday Night between Week 5 and 10. Pettine said WR Travis Benjamin (shoulder) is day-to-day and X-rays on WR Marlon Moore (ribs) were negative.