The Cleveland Browns will reportedly release Johnny Manziel this offseason after the quarterback was involved in another off the field incident.
ESPN reports that league sources have said that the Browns will release Manziel in March when the new league year begins. According to the report, the Browns released a statement regarding Manziel and his latest incident, with director of football operations Sashi Brown writing that the team has been "clear about expectations for our players on and off the field" and that Manziel's "status with our team will be addressed when permitted by league rules. We will have no further comment at this time."
Manziel's future in Cleveland has been up in the air all season after the quarterback had a number of off the field issues and now it appears his time with the team is done. ESPN writes that the Browns likely will wait until March when the new league year begins to cut Manziel due to issues with the salary cap. The report says that the Browns currently do not have the cap space to deal with the $4.6 million that Manziel will cost if he is cut, but once the league year begins, the cap will rise and should give the team enough space to make a move.
After the season the Browns hired Hue Jackson as head coach and he had made some comments that led to speculation that the team would move on from Manziel. Jackson said that the team needed to address the quarterback position and many took that to mean that Manziel would be gone by next season. Owner Jimmy Haslam came out and said that the team could "fix" the relationship with Manziel, but that came before news about this latest incident with Manziel.
According to ESPN, Manziel was questioned by police in Texas last week regarding an incident with his girlfriend. That was not the first time that Manziel has had an incident with his girlfriend, as police in Avon, Ohio, questioned him after Manziel and his then-girlfriend got in an altercation while driving. Manziel also has had some other off the field issues, including reports that Manziel was in Las Vegas the last week of the season and missed a team medical check-up.
All of those issues and the latest incident likely means that Manziel's time in Cleveland is done. Manziel has been linked to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, as Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports reported that Manziel would "love" to end up in Dallas and that Jerry Jones is "enamored" with Manziel. Manziel is originally from Texas and could be an option for the Cowboys as a backup for Tony Romo. Either way, it appears that Manziel is done in Cleveland.
