Austin Davis to start for Browns
By Connor Howe
Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Austin Davis (7) scrambles in the second half against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Ravens won 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Browns quarterback Austin Davis will start against the Bengals on Sunday. Johnny Manziel won’t likely see any meaningful action on Sunday, barring an injury.
In a surprising turn of events, Austin Davis will get the start at quarterback on Sunday. The Cleveland Browns have been looking for a quality starting quarterback for years now, but have still yet to find their franchise signal-caller.
Mike Pettine doesn’t seem to trust Johnny Manziel, who was benched last week for lying to the team about his alcohol consumption over the weekend.
This whole drama-filled predicament is very strange, but perhaps the strangest issue of all is that Cleveland refuses to let Manziel just play out the rest of the season and see what he is. After all, the Browns selected him in the first round of last year’s draft. Why not just see if he’s the answer?
Perhaps Cleveland has already given up on Manziel, which could be a reason for the team giving Davis the starting nod. It’s hard for a team like the Browns–and rightfully so–to put complete trust in a quarterback like Manziel who hasn’t earned that trust.
Davis will be the Browns’ third starting quarterback this season. This means that Cleveland has played at least three quarterbacks in a season for an insane four straight seasons. Cleveland has started ten different quarterbacks throughout the Dalton era. And in Cincinnati, Andy Dalton hasn’t missed a single start.
Austin Davis last night means the Browns had to play at least 3 (true) QBs in a season for 7th time since 2006 and fourth straight season.
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) December 1, 2015
Keep this in mind for Sunday's Browns-Bengals game. QBs who have started a game for each team since 2011: pic.twitter.com/PbOoNmok4G
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) December 2, 2015
Austin Davis has a 3-5 record as a starter, after making eight starts with the St. Louis Rams in 2014. At one point, Davis was looking like a potential solution to the Rams’ quarterback problem, but eventually, he came back down to earth.
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Regardless of who he was in St. Louis, Austin Davis could prove to be a much tougher opponent for Cincinnati than Manziel, as there is less tape on Davis from 2015 and uncertainty of how Cleveland will construct its offensive scheme against the Bengals.