Cleveland Browns Rumors: Has The Team Already Given Up On Johnny Manziel — Will They Trade The Young QB?

Johnny Manziel is heading into his second season in the NFL after a rather uneventful rookie year and a far-too-eventful 2015 offseason. Training camp has just begun for the Cleveland Browns, and Manziel’s first day of practice was one that needed to be forgotten, but he picked it up on day two. One has to wonder though, are the Browns already giving up on Manziel and would they consider trading him?

On day two of training camp, ESPN reported that Manziel had a much better day in the pocket and unofficially had just one incompletion. Browns coach Mike Pettine said that he likes the work ethic in Manziel.

“Too much gets made in that ‘He had a bad series of plays.’ He came out here today, just like any other day — he wanted to work to get better, and he took it one play at a time.”

With confident talk from Pettine and even backing from Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas, many wonder if the team has already soured on Johnny Manziel. Browns owner Jim Haslam also threw his own support at the second-year quarterback, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

“Despite what everybody reads and says, we’ve not at all given up on Johnny [Manziel]. We think he has the potential to be a good football player. Now, having the potential and doing it are two different things, but I think we’ve said numerous times that you’re not going to win consistently in this league without a good quarterback and we’re trying to make that happen.”

Johnny Manziel is just 22-years-old, and that’s barely. He has had just one season in the NFL, and he played back-up for most of it. Now, he’s going into his sophomore season and likely to start at second on the depth chart behind starter Josh McCown.

McCown is the early favorite to start the season for the Browns, but Manziel just needs to bide his time and keep working. Depending on how successful McCown and the Browns are, Manziel could end up in the starting position at some point in 2015.

With a new target, such as wide receiver Dwayne Bowe now on the team, it’s going to be difficult for either McCown or Manziel to fail.

His first season in the NFL saw Manziel pass for just 175 yards on 18-of-35 passing attempts with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He also had 29 yards rushing on nine attempts and one touchdown.

Johnny Manziel is just getting started with the Cleveland Browns and it doesn’t look like the team wants to give up on him or even think of trading him. Well, yet, that is. They want to see him keep working and stay focused so that more rumors and bad reports don’t start.

[Image via Getty Images]