Jimmy Haslam hasn’t exactly done a stellar job in his relatively short tenure as owner of the Browns, but he at least realizes that the the only thing his struggling team can sell right now is Johnny Manziel.
 
That’s why, according to reports, Manziel is going to start for the remaining four games, beginning with Sunday’s visit by the San Francisco 49ers to FirstEnergy Stadium.
 
Head coach Mike Pettine is going to say that he and his coaches came to the decision to play Manziel over Austin Davis, who started in Sunday’s 37-3 drubbing by the Cincinnati Bengals and was, predictably, absolutely awful. But don’t be that gullible. Pettine was told to do it by his boss, Haslam, to boost the gate for a bad opponent that has no drawing power in Cleveland.
 
There were plenty of empty seats for the start of the Bengals game, so how many more no-shows will there will be for the 4-8 49ers, who have no name players other than former Browns kicker Phil Dawson? Smartly so, Haslam wanted to limit the damage.
 
As the old saying goes, follow the trail of money and it will lead you to the answer of just about everything in life.
 
Fans were chanting for the Browns to play Manziel when the Bengals game got out of hand, but Pettine wasn’t through yet punishing him for his latest escapades.
 
Haslam let the coach have his way on that one, but he wasn’t going to allow that silly little act to continue and as such stepped in and put his foot down. And Pettine, who is hanging by a frayed thread job-wise, had no choice but to do it.
 
The Browns can at least promote the fact that Manziel, a polarizing figure not just in Cleveland but throughout the NFL, will be starting. Announcing that Davis, who is a decent backup but nothing more, was going to be the starter for a second straight game would have carried the same pizzazz as pointing out that right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and defensive end Randy Starks were going to be in the lineup again.
 
So at least there’s a reason now to watch Sunday’s game.