Cleveland Browns Will Start Austin Davis at QB, Not Johnny Manziel

Coach Mike Pettine announced this morning Austin Davis will be the starting quarterback Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium. He went 3-5 as a starter last season for the St. Louis Rams, and has enough experience to make this team somewhat competitive until the season comes to a merciful end.

“I’m not on an island when I make these decisions”, Pettine said. “These are two players that we both want to see play is the bottom line. I’m not going to go beyond that”. “So Austin’s the guy for this week”. Throughout the year he has battled with the enigmatic Johnny Manziel, and when fit, has started the majority of games.

The odds of them earning the first overall pick in the draft, however, moved a good bit more.

Prior to Week 12, Manziel had been named the season starter, but social media pictures of the quarterback partying in Texas ended that idea.

Davis nearly did the same thing himself in the prior drive, throwing a pass right into the arms of Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb that should have been intercepted with 1:17 left, but Webb dropped it. Davis then took a bad sack and threw an incomplete pass before Cleveland punted the ball away. Manziel bounced back the next week and passed for 372 yards against Pittsburgh, a performance that offered a glimpse at his potential.

Pettine demoted him to third string, saying the 22-year-old had violated the team’s trust.

Asked how Manziel can return to the starting role, Pettine said, “Continue to work”.

Veteran left tackle Joe Thomas added, “I thought he came in and did a nice job”.

Pettine said he will consult with others, but made it clear that the decision on who will start at quarterback on Sunday against the Bengals will be his alone.

Ravens safety Will Hill scooped up the blocked kick and tiptoed past John Harbaugh and the Ravens bench 64 yards for a touchdown as time expired, giving Baltimore a stunning 33-27 win. He went 7/10 for 77 yards and a touchdown to tie the game at 27-27 with less than two minutes to play.

Austin Davis has scaled the Browns depth chart over the past few weeks.

“He is as prepared as any quarterback that I’ve been around”, Pettine said.