The tenure for Johnny Manziel in Cleveland appears to be over after the Browns quarterback got himself into another incident off the field.
According to ESPN.com, the Browns are likely to release Manziel once the new league year begins in March after the quarterback was involved in multiple off field incidents over the past year. Browns director of football operations Sashi Brown released a statement regarding Manziel and the latest incident, saying that the team has been "clear about expectations for our players on and off the field." The ESPN report says that the Browns are prepared to release Manziel once the new league year begins.
The Browns are likely waiting to release Manziel until March, as the team does not have enough cap space to make the move yet. The league year will see the cap increase and that will allow the team to deal with Manziel and his $4.6 million cap hit, according to ESPN. Manziel has had an up and down season for the Browns, as he has been involved in multiple incidents, including missing a team medical check-up. As a rookie, Manziel missed the final walkthrough for the team and also checked into rehab after the season ended.
Manziel has shown some flashes of talent, but it looks like the Browns have given him his last chance. The team hired Hue Jackson to take over for Mike Pettine and Jackson has already made multiple comments that the Browns need to address the quarterback position. ESPN reported that Jackson took over the job with the idea that the Browns would move on from Manziel. That report came before the latest incident and now it looks like the team will move on from Manziel.
According to Ed Werder at ESPN, Manziel has "told people" that the Chiefs, Rams and Cowboys are interested in adding him once he becomes available. The Rams and Cowboys reportedly had interest in Manziel before he was drafted and now those teams could pick up on that this offseason. The Cowboys have been mentioned multiple times in connection with Manziel, but Todd Archer at ESPN Dallas does not think that the team will end up signing him.
Manziel is originally from Texas and reportedly would love to end up with the Cowboys. The Cowboys need a backup for Tony Romo and Jerry Jones has reportedly had interest in Manziel since the 2014 draft. Manziel has had his issues off the field and he likely will not get another chance to start anytime soon, but getting into a new situation could be good for the quarterback. The Rams desperately need an upgrade at the position, while the Chiefs could look at Manziel as a backup option for Alex Smith.