REPORT: Johnny Manziel’s Days In Cleveland Are Probably Over

It really wasn’t surprising when it was announced that the Cleveland Browns were going to fire general manager Ray Farmer, and then proceeded to do just that shortly after the team’s 28-12 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. They elected to fire not only Farmer, but also head coach Mike Pettine. The question that now immediately comes is where does this leave Johnny Manziel?

It’s obvious that Manziel and Pettine didn’t get along whatsoever, and one could suspect that the folks in Cleveland’s front office, including Farmer, weren’t fond of Manziel’s off-the-field antics, either – especially after he had really only shown flashes of potential on the field in his two years with Cleveland.

Now, according to the MMQB’s Peter King, it appears that the Browns have all but declared publicly that they want to cut ties with the former Texas A&M star, and Manziel could be headed to the Dallas Cowboys next. The report comes after Manziel couldn’t be found and apparently failed to show up to a mandatory meeting when placed on the NFL’s concussion protocol list, as he was for this week against the Steelers.

ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi even reports Manziel showed up at the facilities this week “inebriated.”

Yikes.

But, as for King’s report that Manziel wants to be a Cowboy, this isn’t necessarily new news — we’ve heard rumors of Manziel landing in Dallas as recent as last month, and it was pretty clear that Jones was seriously considering drafting him in 2014 before the opted for offensive lineman Zack Martin. Now with Pettine and Farmer both out of the picture, it might be Manziel who is let go next.

Right off the bat, Johnny to Dallas seems like a perfect fit, especially when you think about the off-the-field issues that Manziel was consistently crucified for under Pettine’s team. I can’t imagine Jones being upset with Manziel for appearing intoxicated in a video at a club given that he’s paying a guy millions who allegedly threw his girlfriend on a pile of assault rifles.

You might think that Dallas and Manziel might not fit scheme-wise, or situationally speaking for that matter, with Tony Romo expected to return next season. But if you think about it, Romo looks like he’s got four, maybe five solid seasons left. Wean Manziel into the offensive scheme every year and it could be a smooth transition. The Cowboys clearly need a capable backup to Romo in case their starter goes down with a serious injury like he did this season.

This is obviously just a report at this point, but this could be a chance for both Cleveland and Manziel to start over. The Browns can draft themselves another quarterback and Manziel can (for once) get cut a little slack for his extracurricular activities.