National Football League

Manziel forced into shoe swap

Published Jul. 27, 2014 1:55 p.m. ET

foxsports

BEREA, Ohio - It's always something with Johnny Manziel.

On Sunday, it was his shoes.

Manziel took to the practice field Sunday morning, the second official day of Cleveland Browns training camp, wearing bright yellow Nikes.

By the time practice started around 9:45 a.m., he'd changed into another pair of predominantly orange shoes, more in line with team colors. Manziel never left the practice field; an equipment manager handled the swap.

After practice, Browns head coach Mike Pettine fielded two questions about Manziel's attention-grabbing shoes and subsequent change. Pettine didn't provide many details but said players are required to wear team-issued gear and that Manziel isn't the first player in this camp who had to make a last-second change.

"I'm a black shoes, black socks guy myself," Pettine said.

It's believed Manziel took the field wearing the Nike Vapor Ultimate football cleat, which Manziel endorses and retails for $250.

Even a little free exposure can't hurt, right?

Of greater concern to Manziel -- presumably, at least -- is that he's trying to beat out veteran Brian Hoyer for the Browns starting quarterback job. Though there's a long way to go, Hoyer thoroughly outperformed Manziel in Sunday's practice.

After that practice, though, Browns general manager Ray Farmer deflected questions about the job being Hoyer's to lose by saying the team wants "to drive competition" and that Manziel showed up to camp "looking like a guy fiercely prepared for competition."

Manziel spent the summer jetsetting and making Instagram hits by the thousands with photos of him partying in various hotspots. A day after Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said "we expect better" from Manziel when it comes to his off-field behavior, Farmer addressed it, too.

"We met, but I'm big on keeping those conversations private," Farmer said. "I did know of his off-the-field prowess, if you will. I think like Johnny said, like Jimmy Haslam said, like Mike Pettine said, Johnny has made mistakes and that's that. He's focused, he's committed to football, he's doing his thing here in the building and we're excited to have him on our team."