Brian Hoyer will start for the Cleveland Browns during Saturday's preseason opener against the Detroit Lions, head coach Mike Pettine announced Wednesday. Johnny Manziel had been taking first-team snaps during practice this week. When pressed, however, Pettine said that Hoyer would get the start because "he's done nothing to have that taken away from him."
Brian Hoyer, not Johnny Manziel, to start Browns’ preseason opener
Though Manziel has begun taking first-team snaps in practice, the Browns will stick with the incumbent Hoyer to start their preseason opener against the Lions on Saturday.
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Pettine also said that it would be possible for Manziel to earn the start for the Browns’ second preseason game against Washington, though that “seems like about a month away.“
As for who will actually play the games that matter, Pettine said that he wants to name a regular-season starter by the Browns’ third preseason game, which is usually used by NFL teams as a dress rehearsal of sorts. Projected starters get extended snaps, so it helps to have a clear idea of who will play Week 1.
Manziel admitted Thursday that he has had to make a significant adjustment to the NFL. He said he was “miffed” during his first drive of last Saturday’s intra-squad scrimmage, but that the lights were starting to come on. Reports surfaced earlier this offseason that the organization was worried Manziel was spending too much time partying to learn the playbook, but Pettine later said that the rookie was “right where he should be.“
Hoyer v. Manziel may be the most intriguing position battle of any NFL training camp. Manziel is, of course, the much-ballyhooed and somewhat controversial rookie, while Hoyer is the veteran incumbent who played surprisingly well before suffering a torn ACL early during the 2013 season.
Hoyer certainly isn’t backing down:
#browns hoyer said his mindset to keep job didn't change when Manziel started splitting first-team reps this week
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 6, 2014 Manziel may take over the starting job at some point (many expect him to), but the fact that he is behind Hoyer at the moment isn’t surprising. The Browns have insisted that they did not want to rush the rookie into the starting position, and said that Hoyer would start the regular season almost immediately after they selected Manziel.
Clearly, the Browns are not sticking to their absolute stance, but they aren’t going to hand Manziel the keys without a fight, either.
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