Despite leading the Cleveland Browns to their first victory of the season and posting a two-touchdown, 133.9 passer rating in Week 2, Johnny Manziel is headed back to the bench in favor of Josh McCown.
"Obviously I'm not going to sit here and say that I love the decision," Manziel said of being passed over Wednesday, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "But I respect coach Pett (Mike Pettine), and that's the guy that makes the calls for this team."
Added Manziel: "I think I took it all right, but it's obviously disappointing. I'm all right going through the day. I just got done lifting, went to practice and everything. It's a little bit different obviously not getting all the reps and everything, but it's part of it."
When announcing that McCown would start, Pettine praised Manziel's progress, despite sending the first-round pick back to the bench.
The quarterback has thrown three touchdowns of 50-plus yards this season -- the rest of the NFL has combined for six, none with more than one. Manziel leads the NFL in yards per completion at 16.86, ahead of Ben Roethlisberger, who sits second at 15.32.
Despite persistent ball security issues, Manziel's 133.9 rating in Week 2 was the highest passer rating by a Browns quarterback since Derek Anderson in Week 8, 2007 at St. Louis (143.0 passer rating).
The second-year signal-caller said he plans to be ready the next time his name is called.
"I'm going to be a team player and do what I need to do from here on out and be ready if my number's called," he said. "I felt like I went out and did some good things. I bridged the gap and that's what we needed. Our team needed a win, and I was the next guy up. We got the win."
Whether for performance or injury, we expect Manziel to get a chance to play extended minutes again this season. What he does with that opportunity will be an indicator of his future in Cleveland.
