It's official. Johnny Manziel is back.
The Brownsannounced Tuesday the second-year passer will take the reins in Week 14 against the San Francisco 49ers.
"Johnny will be our starting quarterback on Sunday," Browns coach Mike Pettine said. "He's been solid in the building over the last couple of weeks and we are hopeful he takes this opportunity to continue to build on the progress he's made on the field throughout the season. The goal for every game is to go out and win, and Johnny needs to show that he can put us in position to do so during these last four weeks of the season."
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport first reported the switch on Monday after Austin Davis helmed a 37-3 loss against the Bengals in Week 13. Davis was only under center because Manziel was benched after footage materialized of last year's first-round pick hitting the clubs during Cleveland's bye week.
Pettine took a strong stance in disciplining his lightning-rod passer, but the muddy situation at quarterback grew dire after veteran Josh McCown was lost for the year in Week 12. Besides, keeping Manziel on the bench for another week simply made no sense for a team spiraling into deep darkness.
How Manziel performs over the next four weeks -- on and off the field -- will have a huge impact on how Cleveland approaches an offseason certain to be filled with another round of deep-cutting organizational changes.
