Why the Browns still haven’t released Johnny Manziel

The way the Cleveland Browns have passively aggressively talked about Johnny Manziel the past month, you’d have thought that they wouldn’t wait one minute past the start of the league year to cut the troubled quarterback.

But Wednesday came and went and Manziel was still with the Browns. He’ll be gone at some point, it’s just a matter of how. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot, the team is still holding out hope that a team will trade a conditional late-round draft pick for Manziel.

That seems like a true Hail Mary at this point, but there’s no drawback to waiting if you’re the Browns, who could use some good news this offseason.

The Plain Dealer said “as many as three teams might be interested in Manziel,” according to a source. That would be surprising. Manziel’s off-field issues are well known. And it was announced on Feb. 25 his domestic violence assault case would be presented to a grand jury. That could lead to an NFL suspension.

Not only would it be surprising if a team traded anything for Manziel, it would be surprising if anyone signed Manziel as a free agent given the issues he has to work through off the field and his lack of on-field NFL success. He probably needs to prove to teams he is committed to being a professional. But NFL teams get crazy sometimes, and Manziel was a first-round pick just two years ago.

There’s also a possibility the Browns are holding on in hopes of voiding some of Manziel’s guaranteed money remaining on his contract, which could happen if he’s suspended (Pro Football Talk outlined the possibility).

That process might take a while, though there’s no real reason the Browns can’t wait. Still, Cabot wrote that the Browns were going to give the trade possibility “a day or two,” indicating the Browns want the situation resolved soon.

Given all we know about Manziel, it would be a shock if a team traded anything for him. But the Browns seem to be holding out hope.