LANDOVER, Md. (AP) – If the Cleveland Browns pick a quarterback based solely on numbers, there’s not much either Johnny Manziel or Brian Hoyer did to show he deserves the job.
If the choice is based on maturity, the hot-shot rookie’s obscene gesture lost him some ground to the nondescript sixth-year veteran.
Manziel raised his middle finger toward the opponents’ bench as he returned to the huddle late in the third quarter of Monday night’s 24-23 loss to the Washington Redskins. Truth be told, it was one of the few times a Browns QB actually found his intended target.
“It does not sit well,” Cleveland coach Mike Pettine said. “It’s disappointing, because what we talk about is being poised and being focused. … That’s a big part of all football players, especially the quarterback.”
Manziel called the moment a “lapse of judgment” and suggested it was brought about by another game of unprintable verbal grief from another team’s players and fans. He was openly mocked by Brian Orakpo in the first quarter when the Redskins linebacker raised both hands and performed the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner’s “money” gesture after a sack by Ryan Kerrigan.