Daily Dawg Chow: Browns news (11/9/15)

Cleveland Browns:

• "Thomas' agent shoots down report that Thomas asked to explore a trade" (Plain Dealer) - "Browns left tackle Joe Thomas' agent Sunday called a report that Thomas asked the Browns to explore a trade 'a complete fabrication.'"
• "Pettine: Don't want Johnny Manziel to be pure pocket passer" (ESPN) - "The Cleveland Browns do not want to harness Johnny Manziel into being a pure pocket passer. Coach Mike Pettine said his halftime remark Thursday night that Manziel needed to 'settle down...'"
• "Regardless of Starting QB, Browns Must Center Offense on Duke Johnson" (B/R) - "The Cleveland Browns offense has, for the most part, been the only consistently positive aspect of the 2015 iteration of this team. Granted, it's not the most adept at scoring points as evidenced by the 10 they managed..."
• "CLE-CIN Grades: Bengals coast to 8-0 against Browns" (PFF) - "All the focus for the Browns entering this game was on Johnny Manziel (-0.3), and although he was able to outperform his disastrous home start against the Bengals from Week 15 last season..."

NFL:

• "Week 9 injury roundup: Mangold, Roethlisberger hurt" (SI.com) - "Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger exited with a foot injury and was replaced by Landry Jones on the following drive."
• "Matthew Stafford in limbo as Lions mull firing Jim Caldwell, other moves" (CBS) - "The Lions continued their organizational shake-up this week, firing the team president and general manager as a precursor to what sources have called even more sweeping changes to come in 2016."
• "For NFLPA, it’s about the CBA not the conduct" (PFT) - "The NFL Players Association has taken plenty of flak in the aftermath of the release by Deadspin of photos from the Greg Hardy criminal case. Some have suggested that the union shouldn’t have pursued an appeal..."
• "Gabbert propels 49ers to win over fading Falcons" (NFL.com) - "Colin Kaepernick? Benched. Carlos Hyde and Reggie Bush? Injured. A prognosticator with any sense would have written the 49ers' offense off on Sunday, especially with first-round draft bust Blaine Gabbert at the helm."