Johnny Manziel to start vs. 49ers

— -- Johnny Manziel will start at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Browns made the expected announcement Tuesday, two weeks and two games after Manziel had been demoted for his bye week/social media decisions and for lying to the coaching staff about it.

"Johnny will be our starting quarterback on Sunday," Browns coach Mike Pettine said in a statement released by the team. "He's been solid in the building over the last couple of weeks and we are hopeful he takes this opportunity to continue to build on the progress he's made on the field throughout the season. The goal for every game is to go out and win, and Johnny needs to show that he can put us in position to do so during these last four weeks of the season."

The move marks the sixth quarterback change for the Browns since the season opener, and the third time Manziel has been given the job.

He won the second game of the season over Tennessee, but lost badly to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in November. He struggled against the Bengals but threw for 372 yards against the Steelers.

Manziel was given the job the rest of the season after facing the Steelers, but Pettine demoted him to the third team because the coach said he had violated the team's trust by lying about the timing of a video showing him partying in Austin, Texas, during the bye week. Manziel's reaction to the demotion was involved in the decision to put him back on the field.

"When we talk about the (decision), we hit the reset button and throw everything on the table," Pettine said Monday at his news conference following a 37-3 loss to Cincinnati.

Pettine said a four-game stretch will give the team plenty of time to evaluate what they have in Manziel, who was taken in the first round of the 2014 draft.

"Four games is a quarter of a season," Pettine said. "That is a good chunk of time. I think we already have a sense of where he is from a football standpoint. He has done some good things and showed progress from a year ago. That has been encouraging.

"We will see how it plays out."