CLEVELAND — Johnny Manziel’s latest video appearance has the Browns concerned.
The second-year quarterback is expected to have a conversation with Cleveland coach Mike Pettine after another video surfaced over the weekend on social media of him partying. In the short clip, Manziel, wearing a “Merry Manziel” shirt, is seen singing along as “March Madness” by Future plays in the background. A framed jersey of Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, one of Manziel’s Texas A&M teammates, hangs on the wall behind him.
Last month, Manziel was demoted from starter to third-string by Pettine after he denied that a video of him partying in Austin, Texas, was taken during Cleveland’s bye week. Manziel had promised Pettine and other coaches he wouldn’t be a distraction while the team was off.
On Monday, Pettine said he had not yet seen the new video of Manziel.
“Any time there’s something with our players that casts them potentially in a bad light, whether it’s Johnny or any of our other guys, it’s certainly a concern,” Pettine said on a conference call. “I’m sure I’ll see it and have a discussion with him about it. These circumstances are different from the incident that occurred before. I’m just not going to go into a ton of detail with it until I get a little bit more information about it, but it’s something that I’m sure privately we’ll discuss if it needs to be discussed.”
Pettine had promised there would be “harsh” repercussions if Manziel had another embarrassing issue. The Browns have been supportive of the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, who has shown major progress in his second NFL season following a rough rookie year which was followed by a 73-day stay in a rehab facility for an unspecified condition.
When he benched Manziel previously, Pettine said he was doing so because the 23-year-old had violated the team’s trust.
Manziel was shot holding a champagne bottle in the video last month, and in the new one he appears to be holding an alcoholic beverage. Pettine was asked if he was troubled that Manziel would be so public with his drinking considering his past issues.
“It falls back into not micromanaging personal lives, and it’s very public unfortunately,” said Pettine. “The thing that’s disappointing is how public it becomes and it’s something with all of our players we’re going to sit down with them before they get out of here and talk about where they are personally, where they are professionally, and certainly Johnny will be no exception.”
Manziel rushed for 108 yards — the most by a quarterback in team history — in Sunday’s 17-13 loss at Kansas City. It was his third straight start and the Browns are hoping to get another look at the 23-year-old on Sunday in the season finale against Pittsburgh.
