Mike Pettine indicates Johnny Manziel on short leash

— -- Browns coach Mike Pettine said Wednesday that "repercussions would be harsh" if quarterback Johnny Manziel has another off-field transgression.

"[It's] hard to put things in a vacuum," Pettine said. "I don't want to sit here and say, 'Look at the degree of discipline.' It's hard to say we have a zero-tolerance policy. If something were to occur, I imagine the repercussions would be harsh."

Pettine also conceded that the Browns might not have been aware of how "deep-rooted" Manziel's off-field issues were when they drafted him in the first round in 2014.

"You see the reputation, what was out there," he said. "I don't think we anticipated that his problems, his issues, how deep-rooted they were, the extent of it."

Pettine said if every player with an issue were removed from the draft board, he would be left choosing from five or six players.

"You have to decide how much of this is maturity," Pettine said. "Is it early in college career? Is it continuing? You do as much as you can."

Manziel spent 10 weeks in a treatment facility after his rookie season, then lost the starting job after a video of him partying in Austin, Texas, during the Browns' bye week surfaced on social media.

Manziel compounded the problem by lying to the coaching staff about when the video was filmed. He then was demoted from starter to third team, but the team's quarterback situation changed when Josh McCown broke his collarbone and Austin Davis lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 37-3.

"We have to be able to put a team out there and play," Pettine said. "We know that there are some off-the-field issues there with Johnny. It's been very public and debated. Those are things that we're well aware of.

"We're going to spend some time, whether it's now doing what you can and after the season addressing those."

Pettine said Manziel has improved as a quarterback from his rookie season, when in some ways he was at an "elementary level." But the coach emphasized that Manziel has to earn the respect of teammates and the trust of coaches and that there is a bigger responsibility for a quarterback.