The Cleveland Browns are planning to release Johnny Manziel as soon as the new league year begins on March 9, according to a report.
On Tuesday, the Browns put out a very harsh statement addressing the recent slew of negative attention Manziel has brought to the franchise. The wording seemed to indicate that the team is planning to cut the 24-year-old quarterback.
“Johnny’s continual involvement in incidents that run counter to those expectations undermines the hard work of his teammates and the reputation of our organization,” Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown wrote. “His status with our team will be addressed when permitted by league rules.”
Pat McManamon of ESPN.com is reporting that the Browns are simply waiting to release Manziel for salary cap reasons. League rules permit them to release Manziel beginning Feb. 8, but the team will be absorbing a $4.6 million cap hit if and when they cut ties with him. While the Browns currently do not have the salary cap space needed for the move, they will as soon as the cap increases for the 2016 league year. That will take place on March 9.
There is a growing sense of belief that this is exactly what Manziel was hoping for. The only explanation for him allegedly throwing on a disguise and taking a trip to Las Vegas on the eve of Cleveland’s regular-season finale is that Manziel wants to be cut so he can choose what team to sign with next. And just to confirm that he doesn’t care what the Browns think, Manziel has been videotaped partying this offseason. You can see some footage of that here.
Assuming Manziel’s time in Cleveland has come to a close, it has been nothing shy of a disaster. We already know of at least one NFL team that Manziel is hoping to play for, but he’d be fortunate to find work with the way he has acted in recent months.
