While Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine has been very vague all week about who will start at quarterback, it appears we may now have some more clarity. The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot has reported that Johnny Manziel is expected to start this week versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Manziel has taken first team reps most of the week with Josh McCown practicing on a limited basis, but Pettine has said repeatedly McCown will be their starter if he is active. McCown missed last week's game with an injury and made some progress in practice this week, but remained questionable on Friday's injury report.
If McCown is indeed inactive on Sunday, it will mark Manziel's fifth career start in the NFL. Manziel's start last week against the Cincinnati Bengals went fairly well given it was a short week, though he completed just 15 of 33 passes and was asked to throw too much when the Browns fell too far behind.
From a fantasy perspective, he should be avoided in all leagues including DFS if he starts this week. The most noticeable impact of him start might come from tight end Gary Barnidge taking a slight hit to his value, but he should remain a top-five option this week.