Benching Johnny Manziel Casts Doubt on QB's Future, Makes Big Problem for Browns

It was all coming together for Johnny Manziel. After his first career 300-yard passing performance, the second-year pro had been named the Cleveland Browns starter for the rest of the 2015 season. "Johnny Football" was finally going to get an extended chance to show that last year's disaster as a rookie was an aberration.

Now the exception looks like the rule, and everything has fallen apart. For the player and the team.

As A.J. Perez of USA Today reports, Manziel will not be starting Monday night's game against the Baltimore Ravens. In fact, he won't even be backing up Josh McCown.

No, Manziel has been dropped all the way to third string by head coach Mike Pettine, who released a statement via the team's website:

"

Everyone in this organization wants what is best for Johnny just like we do for every player in our locker room. I’m especially disappointed in his actions and behavior, because he has been working very hard.

The improvements from last year to this year have been tremendous, but he still has to consistently demonstrate that he has gained a good understanding of what it takes to be successful at the quarterback position on this level. It goes well beyond the field. We are going to continue to support him in every way possible, but at this point, we’ve decided it’s best to go with Josh as the starter going forward.

"

The actions and behavior Pettine was referring to are these:

That's Manziel, partying it up. According to TMZ, the video was shot last week in Austin, Texas, while the Browns were on a bye.

Manziel supporters/apologists may chime in here and remind us that JFF is, in fact, a grown man above the legal drinking age in all 50 states. If the 22-year-old wants to enjoy a little revelry in his off time, what's the problem?

Oh, I don't know. Maybe the horrific play as a rookie. Perhaps the rumblings that Manziel partied too much and prepared too little. The offseason stint in rehab. The roadside incident in October.

Or maybe the fact that when Manziel finally got a second chance (a chance that Pettine seemed to loathe even offering until he had no other recourse), the player who certainly appears to have a drinking problem promptly went and, well, drank for two evenings.

I'm not going to sit here and condemn Manziel. He is a grown man. Able to do as he pleases. But this much is clear: Manziel is all but finished in Cleveland.

As ESPN reported, Pettine didn't exactly hide his displeasure with Manziel's latest shenanigans:

"

It's a little easier to handle when it's just a one-time occurrence, but when behavior repeats, not just him but with anybody, it's certainly a cause for concern.

You have a vision of what you want the team to look like, how you want them to handle themselves when they're out of the building. We talk a lot about it ... so when things like this happen—and not just him, but just in general—any team when you have incidents like that [where] a guy knows that he represents more than himself and has issues off the field, it is frustrating.

"

Mind you, this is the same Mike Pettine who continued to roll out McCown week after week for a two-win team despite the presence of a young first-round pick on the bench. Because why would he want to see what the team had in Manziel?

After Manziel lit up the Pittsburgh Steelers for 372 yards in Week 10, Pettine finally made the call. Manziel would start the season's final six games. At last, a chance to show what he could do.

And instead, he went and got hammered.

Turns out maybe Pettine knew what he had all along. And that's exactly why Manziel was glued to the bench.

This isn't to say Manziel is a lost cause. He remains a gifted young athlete playing the most sought-after position in sports. He showed real improvement on the field in 2015, especially in the pocket.

But in Cleveland? He's done. He almost has to be at this point. Even if he could regain the confidence of a new coaching staff (and make no mistake, there will be a new coaching staff...again), the message he sent to his Browns teammates isn't going to be well received.

As linebacker Karlos Dansby grumbled to ESPN, "He's a prisoner of his success."

What are the Browns going to do? Reach early in the 2016 draft for a quarterback in a class where not one signal-caller has separated himself as an "elite" prospect? Or wait in the hopes that the next time Manziel says he's cleaned up his act he means it?

If that sounds like a Kobayashi Maru, welcome to Cleveland.

You know it's a dark day when Skip Bayless also calls out Manziel:

Manziel hasn't left the team a choice. They drafted him early, and he disappointed. He worked his way back to the precipice of the opportunity to really show that he's more than "Johnny Football," and then disappointed again—this time in spectacular fashion.

Time to move on. Time to face facts.

The myth of Johnny Football is consuming Johnny Manziel, the NFL player.

And there's only one person who can stop it.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter, @IDPSharks.