Nate Burleson: 'Johnny's still the man'

Johnny Manziel might not be the starting quarterback for the Browns,
but that doesn't mean his teammates don't believe in him.

Even though Johnny Manziel might not start for the Cleveland Browns in 2014, he's receiving support from one veteran wide receiver. Nate Burleson backed Manziel even though he lost the starting job to Brian Hoyer, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

"I'll just say this, Johnny's still the man,'' said Burleson. “He's still a really good quarterback. He's an NFL-quality starting quarterback. Johnny will be successful in this league. ''

However, Burleson doesn't question the Browns decision to start Hoyer over Manziel.

Burleson still believes in Manziel even though
he won't be the starter in Cleveland.

"We've got really two quarterbacks that are good, and I've been saying that since we first got to camp,'' he said. "Regardless of who was named the starter week one, I feel like we were going to be winners. I say that selfishly speaking as a receiver, I get to benefit from that. I caught balls, touchdowns in 1-on-1s, made plays from both quarterbacks. So for me, I was straddling the fence between the two.”

Burleson has praised both players since training camp started.

"They've both got their qualities, their different in ways, but I like the way Brian has commanded the leadership of this team and grabbed ahold of the playbook. But Johnny being the No. 2 as you want to call it, we got arguably the best No. 2 in the NFL. I'm OK with that.''

Burleson might be trying to bolster the confidence of Manziel after he lost out on the starting job. Either way, he has made it clear he thinks Manziel can be successful in the NFL and that should give the rookie confidence moving forward.