The Cleveland Browns are a team under the microscope this offseason and they could go after a Mike Wallace trade to replace Josh Gordon and with Johnny Manziel looking to challenge Brian Hoyer for the starting quarterback position, training camp will be a media event and Johnny Football has already been front and center multiple times since being drafted, including when he was hit with a hoax lawsuit in Florida and when he was seen in Las Vegas at a Memorial Day pool party with Rob Gronkowski.
Manziel was the highest profile player in the 2014 draft class and when he was taken by the Browns many wondered how Cleveland would handle his media exposure and the national press. After initially being very standoffish the team allowed the media to cover most of rookie minicamp and offseason workouts and the team has put Manziel as the third string quarterback to start things before training camp begins in the summer. It's likely that Manziel will slide into the backup role for Hoyer heading into the season, but if he struggles, the fans and the media likely will be clamoring for Manziel to get on the field.
NFL.com reported about an incident in Florida where a very dumb court clerk allowed a lawsuit to go through against Manziel suing him for $25 million "emotional" stress and a restraining order and the name was under Samantha Schacher, the name of a co-host of the Dr. Drew show and clearly not the person filing the suit. The person who issued the suit has done this multiple times and it was just another example of how Manziel is in the spotlight more than other quarterbacks.
Over Memorial Day weekend ESPN ran a bit talking about Manziel being spotted in a picture Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski at a Las Vegas pool party. While it's not the biggest deal in the world, this is another thing Manziel and the Browns have to deal with and there's no doubt it will continue as the season goes on, especially in training camp and even more so if he is made the starter at any point. Manziel could end up in the lineup due to an injury after what happened to Hoyer last season and there's always the chance he can win the job in camp, but so far that looks unlikely for head coach Mike Pettine.
The team could potentially be without Josh Gordon for the season after his possible drug suspension and the team opted to sign Earl Bennett and Miles Austin over drafting Sammy Watkins. The team had the number four pick and knew of Gordon's potential status and they stuck with their board and traded out and went after Justin Gilbert and now Austin could be a huge key to the 2014 season. Austin previously had back to back 1,000 yard seasons and made the Pro Bowl, but he is coming off of injuries and last season he played in 11 while making 24 catches for 244 yards. Over the last three seasons Austin has missed 11 games the Browns are hoping they can catch lightning in a bottle and get Austin back to Pro Bowl form.
