On Tuesday (2/2/16) the Cleveland Browns released a statement about Johnny Manziel in regards to the alleged assault of an ex-girlfriend and the pending police investigation.
The statement came from Sashi Brown, executive vice president of football operations, via the Browns website:
"We've been clear about expectations for our players on and off the field. 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. His status with our team will be addressed when permitted by league rules. We will have no further comment at this time."
The "League Rules" addressed to above were discussed by Kevin Seifert of ESPN who noted that the Browns can't release Manziel until next week.
Refers to “league rules.” Browns can release Manziel, by league rule, no sooner than next week. https://t.co/94dvVPe7Hv
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) February 2, 2016
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com noted that the Browns are not likely to cut or trade Johnny Football until the new league year opens on March 9, due to cap space.
Again, #Browns most likely won't cut (or trade) Johnny Manziel until #NFL year opens March 9. They don't have the salary cap space now — Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) February 2, 2016
Ian Rapoport indicated that Johhny Football's future with the team was decided when Jackson became coach. That was reported by several outlets at the time.
As soon as Hue Jackson took over as #Browns coach, Johnny Manziel's future with the team was sealed. This statement makes it clearer.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 2, 2016
As of now, we don't expect Manziel to be a Brown for the 2016 season. As for what it means for the Browns fantasy relevance? We're not sure it makes a difference.
If he lands with another team, there could always be the chance he impacts fantasy players in some shape or form.
*This photo is an original is courtesy of Erik Daniel Drost via Flickr. It has been used in accordance with cc-by-2.0. You can find the original file here and here.
For the record, I never actually played football. I have no doubt that I would get crushed running across the middle for a pass, every single time.
