Johnny Manziel Announced as Browns' Starting QB After Josh McCown Injury

The Johnny Manziel era in Cleveland has officially begun—again. On Friday, the team announced the former Heisman Trophy winner as the starter for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans after Josh McCown suffered a concussion in Week 1.  

Manziel, 22, threw for 182 yards, one touchdown and an interception in Cleveland's 31-10 loss to the New York Jets. He added 35 yards on the ground—already eclipsing his 2014 total—but fumbled twice, giving him three turnovers in the second half.

"First and foremost, you can't turn the ball over," Manziel told reporters after the loss, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "So that one throw on the pick, that's got to be outside, that's got to be our ball or nobody's. So that kind of slowed our momentum a little bit. I felt like we did some good things. But in the end, too many mistakes, turnovers, they really just killed us."

It's unclear if McCown will resume his duties as starter when he returns. The veteran signal-caller completed five of his eight passes for 49 yards before leaving the game after colliding with two defenders while attempting to score a first-quarter touchdown. After the contest, teammates and coaches unequivocally supported McCown—though they may prefer he slides next time around.

"You admire the toughness, but you're going to have to tell him, 'You're more important on the field to us than off the field, and let us get the touchdown on the next play or the first down on the next play,'" left tackle Joe Thomas said, per Cabot.

How Manziel performs this week will be paramount to how the Browns look at their quarterback situation. As much as the locker room respects him, McCown is a 36-year-old quarterback with more than a decade of below-average production in his past. 

Manziel, on the other hand, is a year removed from being viewed as the Browns' franchise quarterback. At some time in the future, Cleveland is going to have to roll the dice and choose to live or die with Manziel.

Treading water with mediocre quarterbacks isn't going to put the Browns on the same level as the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. Allowing Manziel to sink or swim, though, would allow the team to move on for good or finally get the franchise quarterback it's been waiting for. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.