Report: Browns ‘so done’ with Manziel, so what’s next for him?
The MMQB’s Peter King is reporting that the Cleveland Browns will move on from quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Whatever Cleveland Browns are remaining standing, that is. After all, the team razed head coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer after Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. So we assume this directive comes straight from owner Jimmy Haslam.
Here’s what King tweeted Sunday night:
On top of that, Manziel was spotted in Las Vegas on Saturday. Haslam later told reporters Sunday night that Manziel did indeed skip his concussion treatment scheduled for Sunday morning.
Jimmy Haslam on the Browns’ future at QB: “We do have the second pick in the draft.”
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 4, 2016
So, yeah, there’s a good chance — no matter who the next head coach is — that Manziel has taken his final snap in Cleveland. If so, the final numbers: In 14 games (eight starts) over two seasons, Manziel completed 147 of 258 passes (57.0 percent), for 1,675 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions, with 259 rushing yards and one score on the ground.
Not good for a first-round pick and likely a big reason why Farmer is out and why Pettine might be relieved to be gone.
So is Manziel taking a flight straight from Vegas to Dallas? Are the Cowboys, who lost Tony Romo for more than half the season and clearly haven’t developed a contingency plan, Manziel’s obvious landing spot next year? There aren’t too many teams he might make sense for.
Could a quarterback-needy team such as the San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams or Philadelphia Eagles take a flier on him? Sure — but expecting Manziel to be a starter next season would be awfully risky. After so-so results on the field and a patterned history of questionable decisions off it, Manziel’s stock is very low right now, even if some team might want to see if he’s able to be salvaged.
That list appears short. It might be Cowboys or bust for Manziel, and bust feels like a strong possibility at this point.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
