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Jon Gruden on Johnny Manziel: 'If you stay with him you're going to be glad you did'

George Gojkovich / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Johnny Manziel's recent demotion after another behavioral incident has caused many to write off the young Cleveland Browns quarterback. However, Manziel can continue to count Jon Gruden among the people who still believe he has a bright future in the NFL.

Gruden, who will be announcing the Browns' Monday night game against the Baltimore Ravens on ESPN, believes this incident should incite the change necessary for Manziel to live up to expectations.

"If he wants to be a great quarterback and realize his potential, let this be the day he gets awakened,'' Gruden said to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "He's an inactive quarterback. He's on a 2-8 team. There's a lot of disappointment and frustration and he's the headline of it.''

Manziel was relieved of his starting job after reportedly lying to the team about when a video that showed him partying took place.

Gruden praised Manziel's performances this season, saying he saw a marked improvement over his disappointing rookie season.

"He's made great progress on the field,'' Gruden said. "I can't tell you how impressed I am with the progress he made last year to this year. Hopefully, we can put this behind him and he can get it together and consistently become the leader and the player we expect him to be."

Gruden brought up a comparison for Manziel that many have made in light of his off the field antics: Brett Favre.

"It's not the first time (for me),'' said Gruden. "We traded for a guy when I first got to Green Bay that Atlanta said was a little bit of a hell raiser and it turned out OK for us. You know what I mean?''

Favre, like Manziel, spent time in rehab early in his career, and was infamous for his behavior off the field that many considered inappropriate for a quarterback in the NFL.

Manziel spent three days training with Gruden before this year's training camp, with the pair first meeting on Gruden's quarterback camp series on ESPN.

"I'm not the expert on him. I'm a supporter of his and I'm going to continue to be that. I have a lot of confidence he's going to turn the corner. If you stay with him you're going to be glad you did."

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