The Cleveland Browns have more problems at quarterback, after it was confirmed that Josh McCown will miss the rest of the season with a fractured collarbone sustained in Monday night’s last-gasp defeat to Baltimore.
Coach Mike Pettine confirmed the news on Tuesday, but would not say whether the team would bring back Johnny Manziel for Sunday’s game against the Bengals.
“I don’t want to head down this slope,” Pettine said. “I’m going to reserve talk for the quarterback stuff until [Wednesday].”
McCown was brought back in as the Browns’ starting quarterback last week, after Manziel was demoted to third string when a video emerged of him partying in an Austin nightclub. The Browns said Manziel was axed because he lied to coaching staff, although sources claimed the young quarterback might have kept the job had he told the truth.
“I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the trust and the accountability piece. This is where we had an obvious shortcoming,” Pettine said of Manziel at the time.
On Tuesday, Pettine said he would “take everything into consideration” when deciding whether Manziel or Austin Davis starts against Cincinnati.
“[I’ll] make the decision for this week that’s best for the team,” he said.
McCown’s fracture will not need surgery, Pettine said. McCown has suffered a sequence of bad luck this season, with concussion, a rib injury and now the broken collarbone.
“I cannot say enough positive things about Josh McCown, what he’s done for this football team and what he means to this football team,” Pettine said.
In eight games, McCown completed 186 of 292 passes for 2,109 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
