Browns coach Mike Pettine stalled and stalled when it came time to announce who’d start the second preseason game.
But his decision on who would start the regular season opener might be a quick one.
Pettine announced Thursday (following days of hedging) that Brian Hoyer would start Monday’s game against Washington, but the Johnny Manziel would get equal reps with the starters.
“I’m sure we’ll sit down at some point next week, maybe more than likely later in the day on Tuesday and get our heads together and see what we come up with,” Pettine said on his radio show on 92.3 The Fan., via the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
As much attention as has been given to the fact Hoyer’s the “veteran” and Manziel the “rookie,” the difference might not be as significant as you think. After all, Hoyer’s only thrown 192 more NFL passes than Manziel, and started only four more games.
“Brian is in a unique situation,” Pettine said. “He does have years in the league, but it’s hard to put that veteran label on him because he doesn’t have that many career starts. In some aspects, he is a veteran because he’s been around for so long in the league, but he’s closer to being a rookie just as far as the number of snaps he’s taken in live game situations.”
Along with the addition of Rex Grossman, it just seems like another piece of evidence that Manziel’s promotion is inevitable.