The San Francisco 49ers will get to see some Johnny Football this weekend when they travel to face the Cleveland Browns. ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting Johnny Manziel will return to the starting lineup following a two-game benching. Browns head coach Mike Pettine will meet with the media later on Monday, at which point he likely will make this official.
Manziel was set to be the Browns starter coming out of the bye week, but video emerged of him having a bit of a wild time. He was promptly benched, and Josh McCown was reinserted as the starting quarterback. McCown started against the Baltimore Ravens, but a collarbone injury ended his season. Austin Davis replaced him late in the game, and started on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Davis was wildly ineffective, but Manziel never got an opportunity in the blowout loss.
The Browns were awful on Sunday, so from a purely playing standpoint, it makes sense. After all, the Browns are going nowhere, and need to figure out what part Manziel might play in the franchise's future. I do wonder though if Manziel would get an opportunity if McCown had not gotten hurt. The team disciplined Manziel, but is this change just another desperation move, as opposed to part of any well thought out strategy? My guess is this is more about desperation than anything else.