Johnny Manziel's benching could spell the end of him with Browns and 4 other takeaways: Mary Kay Cabot

Browns coach Mike Pettine made the bold move of demoting Johnny Manziel from starting quarterback to third-stringer on Tuesday after his partying video from Friday night surfaced on Monday, and it could signal the beginning of the end for Manziel in Cleveland.

The move comes one week after Pettine named Manziel the starter for the final six games of the season, saying "it's his team now" and "he's got his shot.''

It also comes seven days after Manziel promised Pettine he wouldn't do anything to be an "embarrassment to the organization'' during the bye week. Instead, Manziel, who spent 10 weeks in an addiction treatment center in the offseason, was captured waving around a bottle of champagne and looking like he was feeling no pain in the video, which he initially tried to pass off as old.

Josh McCown is the starter for the rest of the season, and Austin Davis is his backup. Manziel, who's 1-4 as a Brown, may never get another chance to improve on that mark.

Here are 5 takeaways from the move:

1. It could be over for Manziel in a Browns uniform

The demotion means that the Browns might not have an opportunity to evaluate Manziel as their quarterback of the future. The whole point of naming him the starter for the final six games was to see if he could be their man heading into next year. Now, he might not play again this season, and they'll likely head into the offseason prepared to draft another quarterback. They'll probably have a top five pick, and a chance to select one of the top prospects such as Paxton Lynch of Memphis, Jared Goff of Californa, or Connor Cook of Michigan State.

The latest incident means the Browns may have reached the end of their rope with Manziel and are ready to sever ties. I don't think they'll cut him before the end of the season, but they'll probably part ways sometime in the offseason. If Manziel can get himself together off-the-field, a team might be willing to surrender a draft pick for him.

But this decision tells me the Browns don't trust him and probably don't think he's worth the trouble. He had one mandate: Go home for the bye weekend and don't mess up. He promised he wouldn't. And then he did. He can't seem to help himself.

I believe they're ready to move on and if they ever get anything out of him, it will be a bonus.

2. Manziel is obviously off track in his aftercare program

I've been writing this since Manziel admitted to day-drinking before his roadway incident Oct. 12: He needs more rehab, whether inpatient or outpatient. If I were him, I'd call the highly-respected folks at the Caron addiction treatment center and let the professionals help him decide which one is best.

It's common knowledge that the chance of relapse is highest in the first year out of treatment. Now would be the perfect time to do it, because he's No. 3 on the depth chart and the Browns don't need him right now. But no one can force him. Rehab doesn't usually work unless a person has reached his own bottom. I doubt Manziel is there yet. But there's no chemical-abuse counselor in the world who will tell you that drinking in the months after treatment is a good idea -- regardless of what his addiction was.

Even his good friend and former coach Julius Scott told USA Today Sports recently that Manziel ought to have his head examined if he thinks having a few is OK. Critics will argue that 22-year-olds drink, that it's legal and that Manziel is just having a good time. If he hadn't been through 70 days of inpatient rehab, I'd agree. But his game has changed and he must too if he hopes to make it in the NFL.

3. Who wanted Manziel in the first place?

Manziel was drafted during a time of major upheaval in the organization, and we may never know the full story on why they not only took him in the first round, but traded up from No. 26 to No. 22 to get him.

But here are some things I do know: when Joe Banner was fired, he was poised to draft Teddy Bridgewater. He wanted no part of Manziel, which may have contributed to his ouster. I've been told that Farmer was high on Bridgewater as well, but at some point, he switched to Manziel. Did he do this to please Jimmy Haslam, who was supposedly a huge Manziel fan? Maybe so, but Farmer insists it was his decision to draft the former Heisman Trophy winner, who had worn out his welcome at Texas A&M.

There were other factors at play. I was told that Kyle Shanahan, the offensive coordinator at the time, was not sold either on Bridgewater. Was Farmer supposed to ignore that and draft a quarterback Shanahan didn't want? And they all whiffed on Derek Carr, who's currently seventh in the NFL with a 99.4 rating.

The fact is, Jimmy Haslam thrust Farmer into a situation he was wasn't ready for just weeks before free agency and the draft: a boatload of cash -- $10 million -- to spend in the market and two first-round picks. That's why the Browns ended up with No. 8 Justin Gilbert, who's hurtling toward Bustville, and Manziel, who could be gone soon too.

And Farmer, who was being pulled in too many directions, will probably take the fall for both of them.

Question is, do the Browns have anyone in the building who can evaluate the quarterbacks in this draft?

4. Manziel never receives consequences

It seems to me like Manziel rarely has to pay the price for his missteps. If there are never any consequences, he'll never change. That's why the Browns did the right thing by demoting him to No. 3. No. 2 wouldn't have hurt enough. I don't even know if No. 3 will get his attention. But in the short time I've been covering him, he's gotten in a fight with a fan at his old apartment building downtown, he's hurled a water bottle at a fan at a golf tournament, he's sped down the berm of Interstate 90 with alcohol in his system, he's been accused by his girlfriend of hitting her -- and he's never suspended or charged with anything.

To be fair, the NFL conducted a thorough investigation into Crowley's claims and cleared Manziel of harming her. But in general, it seems as though Manziel isn't held accountable enough for his actions, and therefore, he's not motivated to change.

Even the Browns were too effusive in their praise of Manziel after the Oct. 12 incident -- despite his admission of day-drinking just months out of rehab. Letting Manziel off the hook too easily isn't helping him.

5. The Browns need to find yet another QB of the future

Maybe he's in this draft and maybe he's not. Maybe it's Manziel, but they can't count on that. They have to look long and hard at drafting a quarterback with their top pick, but only if he's there. They can't force it.

They have to make sure they have the right people making this decision, and if not, they need to hire a consultant or someone who can help them get it right. Fortunately for the Browns, McCown, 36, is under contract for two more years and has a lot of good football left in him. If they surround him with talent -- particularly some big, tall, accomplished receivers -- he can win games.

They don't need to rush it. They should also scour other rosters and the free-agent market. They have Austin Davis wrapped up for two more years and they have Connor Shaw coming back off thumb surgery next season. But they need to make it their mission over the next two years to find a championship-caliber quarterback or they're never going anywhere.