Mike Pettine wouldn’t have benched Johnny Manziel over latest party video
Johnny Manziel is expected to miss the Cleveland Browns’ season finale with a concussion, and some have wondered if he would have been riding the bench with or without a head injury. Head coach Mike Pettine insists Manziel would have started if healthy.
Pettine still has not gotten a chance to speak to Manziel about the latest viral video that shows the quarterback partying, but he said he did not think much of it anyway.
“He was at home on his day off,” Pettine said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “As far as the judgement of it getting out there, I question that. Other than that, this is not similar to the circumstances that involved (the bye week video and response). That was more trust and accountability than it was necessarily the act. I’ll have a conversation with him at the first time that I can.”
In other words, the Browns disciplined Manziel for his bye week shenanigans only because he lied about when the video was recorded, not because he proudly posed for the camera with booze in his hand.
The latest video, which you can see here, appeared harmless on the surface. But for a player who entered rehab for alcohol treatment over the summer and has been named Cleveland’s starting quarterback, it’s a horrible look.
It remains to be seen if the Browns will tolerate Manziel’s antics for another offseason or if they will look to trade him.
