NFL PLAYER NEWS

NFL News: Manziel likely Browns starter vs. Redskins

The Sports Xchange

August 10, 2014 at 7:53 pm.

Johnny Manziel looked sharp in his Browns debut. (Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports)

Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine has not made the announcement yet, but Johnny Manziel is expected to follow up his preseason debut as a backup by starting against the Washington Redskins next Monday night in FedEx Field.

During a conference call Sunday, Pettine said he has not settled on a starter for the Aug. 18 game. He also denied a report by ESPN’s Bob Holtzman claiming a team source told him Manziel has moved ahead of Brian Hoyer in the quarterback competition.

“I’m not sure who his team source would be,” Pettine said. “The people most involved in the decision are myself and (quarterbacks coach) Dowell Loggains and (offensive coordinator) Kyle Shanahan. It’s something I’m not going to pay a lot of attention to. I don’t like being in the business of anonymous sources.

“We put Brian out there with the ones, and that was for a reason. He was ahead because of the edge he had in experience and the lead he had with the playbook. He’s done nothing to have that taken away from him, but Johnny has made a lot of improvement. It was him vs. the playbook and he’s handling it well.”

Manziel entered Saturday night’s game against the Detroit Lions in Ford Field with 7:32 left in the second quarter after Hoyer led the offense to two field goals in three possessions.

Manziel and the second-team offense were on the field for four possessions, not counting a kneel-down for one play at the end of the first half, and had one field goal. Manziel rushed for 27 yards on six runs and completed 7 of 11 passes for 63 yards.

—Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Linval Joseph returned to practice Sunday, a day after he was shot in the calf by a stray bullet inside a Minneapolis nightclub.

Joseph is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Joseph was struck inside 400 Soundbar early Saturday morning. The incident occurred a few hours after the Vikings beat the Oakland Raiders in an exhibition game at home on Friday night.

Police say the shooting, which wounded nine, was gang-related. Joseph was not a target. Joseph was a treated at a hospital and later released Saturday.

—The Vikings signed veteran tight end Kory Sperry. A six-year NFL veteran, Sperry played the 2013 season with the Arizona Cardinals. In 40 career games, he has caught nine passes for 152 receiving yards and one touchdown.

—After being carted off the field following a hard fall on his back, veteran cornerback DeAngelo Hall is expected to be available Aug. 18 against the Cleveland Browns.

Hall fell on his back after being flipped over in the air and, while on the sideline, his back apparently locked up. He was driven to the locker room on a cart. A team spokesperson said it was a bruised back.

—The New England Patriots waived two tight ends and signed three others, including veteran tight end Ben Hartsock.

The Patriots also signed tight ends Steve Maneri and rookie free agent Terrence Miller. In addition, the Patriots released three rookie free agents: running back Stephen Houston and tight ends Justin Jones and Asa Watson.

—Former Patriots safety Steve Gregory announced his retirement on Saturday. He was in the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp. Gregory spent two seasons with the Patriots. For his career, he had 386 tackles, seven interceptions and 27 special-teams tackles in 111 NFL regular-season games (54 starts). He also played 11 playoff games (five starts).

—Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett was back at practice, six days after he was suspended by the team for fighting with rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller.

The team official suspended Bennett for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

Bennett slammed Fuller to the ground after Fuller tried to strip the ball from him during a play in practice.

—The Buffalo Bills signed cornerback Sam Miller. The 22-year-old tried out during the Bills’ minicamp. He played nine games last seasons with Florida International, recording 33 tackles and returning eight punts for 105 yards.

The Bills also released cornerback Michael Carter.

—The Seattle Seahawks signed defensive back Thomas Wolfe and waived/injured linebacker Mike Taylor.

Wolfe originally signed with Seattle as an undrafted rookie free agent last Tuesday but was released one day later.

—The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived safety Mark Joyce. He is an undrafted rookie free agent out of South Florida. The Bucs signed him last week.