Brian Hoyer to start Monday night
Brian Hoyer will start the Cleveland Browns' preseason game Monday night against the Washington Redskins.
Coach Mike Pettine said in a team statement that the Browns "are comfortable with Brian going out there to start the game."
Pettine emphasized that although Hoyer will start, he and Johnny Manziel will share time with the first team. Pettine had said Wednesday that the starters would play about half the game, which means Manziel and Hoyer will get about one quarter each to prove they should be the Week 1 starter.
Manziel has made a strong impression with his work ethic since training camp began but he suffered his first slip Monday when he was a few minutes late for a team meeting, team sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.
Manziel's tardiness was not a factor in the decision to start Hoyer in Monday's game, the sources told Mortensen.
Neither Hoyer nor Manziel has seized the job, leaving the Browns committed to deciding the regular-season starter before the third preseason game without a clear leader heading into the second game. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said earlier in camp that he hoped one player would make the decision easy.
"I think it's a little overblown as to who the starter is going to be [against Washington]," Pettine said. "The key component, as I've stated earlier this week, is that we are going to balance the reps.
"We will play it a little by ear as it goes on. We haven't truly decided as far as the rotation, but the goal is for when we look at the stat sheet at halftime, that they both have the same amount of repetitions and hopefully they both get a good amount of work."
