After years of breathless hype surrounding him dating back to his days at Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans, the nephew of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning â and grandson of College Football Hall of Fame signal caller Archie Manning â finally made his first college football start on Saturday, and at least one NFL team sent their top officials there to get a good look at him.
They must have been disappointed.
Arch Manning, the 21-year-old preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, showed very little of the potential that NFL scouts and fans believe that he possesses.
“The Browns making a big show of scouting Arch Manning only for him to lay a total egg is just too perfect,” wrote Awful Announcing senior editor Ben Axelrod.
Top Browns Officials Attend Manning Debut
As the presumptive No. 1 overall draft pick in 2026 â despite the fact that he has not even announced whether or not he plans to enter the draft and in fact, his family has stated he plans to exhaust his two remaining years of eligibility at Texasâ Manning has been generally predicted to have the Cleveland Browns in his future.
And indeed, it was Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager Andrew Berry who were on hand, spotted on the sidelines at Ohio Stadium for the season-opening game.
Browns Coach Also Eyeing Manning
âThe Mannings are royalty to Jimmy Haslam. Jimmy Haslam also loves headlines,â national sports talk host Colin Cowherd said about a month ago. âSo this is not a conspiracy theory, OK? The circle of trust for Jimmy Haslam is the Manning family and Jimmy Sexton. Sabans, Manning, Haslam, South. This story is a poorly kept secret.â
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski also attended the Texas-Ohio State game, believed to be his first college football outing since becoming Cleveland head coach in 2020, according to Tony Grossi of ESPN’s Cleveland radio affiliate.
But what will the Browns think after witnessing a highly underwhelming outing by Manning in his debut as a starter, completing just 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown, but an interception as well?
Browns Scouting Effort Puts 4 Current QBs on Notice
The young Manning seemed to grow somewhat more comfortable in the second half, after a first 30 minutes with just 26 yards on five completions in 10 attempts.
The presence at the game of the two top Browns officials can only serve to confirm the Browns’ interest in Manning â and as a warning shot aimed at the four quarterbacks currently on the Cleveland roster, or practice squad, including one quarterback who has received close to the same level of media hype as Manning, Shedeur Sanders.
The other three Cleveland signal callers are veteran starter Joe Flacco and rookie Dillon Gabriel, the Browns’ third-round draft pick, along with former New England Patriots backup Bailey Zappe.
Cleveland Grabs Another Experienced Passer
The Browns signed Zappe to their practice squad on Wednesday after the Kanas City Chiefs released him the previous da. Unlike Sanders and Gabriel, Zappe has actually started NFL games at quarterback, filling in for then-Patriots starter Mac Jones eight times in 2022 and 2023.
Zappe also started the season finale for the Browns last season.
With Flacco now 40 years old and likely in his final NFL season, Gabriel and Sanders basically unknown quantities and Zappe clearly no better than a backup, it should not be surprising that the Browns would have their eyes on Manning.
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