Browns will start Josh McCown at quarterback if healthy

Mike Pettine says that Josh McCown will remain the Browns’ number one quarterback when he’s healthy.

Pettine didn’t commit to McCown playing this week, as he still has more work to do, but said that McCown will get the nod over Johnny Manziel as long as McCown can play.

“Josh McCown started the season as our No. 1 quarterback,” Pettine said, via ESPN. “He’s been out due to injury and potentially is coming back. I get the call for, ‘Hey, why not [Manziel]?’ We’re tasked as coaches to put the roster out there that gives us the best hope to win.”

Given Pettine’s comments over the past week, this doesn’t come as a huge surprise. Pettine has talked about giving the team the best chance to win before, with many reading that as an endorsement of McCown over Manziel. Manziel’s start on Thursday also got fairly lukewarm reviews from the coaching staff, with Pettine going as far as to call him “inconsistent.” The Browns didn’t even stick with Manziel after he quarterbacked them to a win early in the season. With all this in mind, one has to wonder exactly what Manziel’s Browns future holds.