Most of the stories coming out of the Cleveland Browns' OTAs have been about how Johnny Manziel is repairing his personal life after a disastrous rookie season, but has next to no chance of starting. Offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell thinks it's too early to close the book.
"Yeah, I think right now coach (Mike) Pettine's been very clear that Josh is here for a reason, but we build everything around here on competition and that's how everybody gets better," O'Connell said, seemingly leaving the door open for Manziel to blow coaches away during training camp and preseason.
"And that's why it's important that this spring that we've been able to install our offense and give these guys the tools they need come the fall that we can have a competitive environment.''
Manziel was a major disappointment last season as a first round pick, throwing zero touchdowns and two interceptions in only two starts. He appeared in five games total and made minimal impact.
During OTAs McCown, who signed a three-year, $14 million deal this offseason, has drawn rave reviews from Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer.
"Until you feel you've found what you would call a long-term solution [at quarterback], I don't think we could have done any better than bringing in a guy like Josh McCown," Pettine said.
"To me, time will tell, but there's so much that he does behind the scenes that people just can't appreciate from everything you talk about - leadership, all the intangible stuff. He's truly a team guy. He's all about winning football games."
Farmer heaped some more praise on him last week as well.
"He is a special, special person. He is the right guy, in my mind, to have on this Browns team. He can lead. He can support. One of the things that's big in my life is servant leadership. You've got to part of the group to serve the group, and he's that."
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