Earlier today it was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter that it wasn’t a given that Browns QB Johnny Manizel would be released on Wednesday, which is the first day of the year for the NFL.
Now that report is being disputed, as various sources say indeed that Manziel is going to be officially gone Wednesday, ending a wild two years with the Browns filled with more news about the QB off the field than on it.
#Browns still expected to release Johnny Manziel on Wednesday. Team would delay move if there's a chance they could get return in trade.
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) March 8, 2016
Cleveland.com reported today that while it’s going to happen, there’s still a shot it may be a day or two until the Browns get rid of Manizel, especially if he can get some interest from other teams.
They might exercise patience for a day or two to see if a team is willing to part with a conditional late-round pick for the troubled quarterback. That’s not expected to happen, of course, but if a team will take Manziel and the remainder of his contract off the Browns’ hands, they’ll surely oblige.
Although Manziel is an off-the-field concern because of his legal issues and possible substance abuse problem, he presents very little financial risk. A new team would only owe him his 2016 base salary: $1,169,872 (guaranteed); his 2017 base salary: $1,004,125 (guaranteed) and his 2017 roster bonus: $250,000 (if he’s on the roster on the fifth league day of 2017).
It’s hard to believe that any team at this point will take a chance on Manziel after all the distractions he’s brought to the Browns, most of the time without him even being the starting quarterback.
Count a member of the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos as a fan of Manziel, that being Von Miller, who stated in an article on GQ that he’d love to have Manziel as part of the team from Mile High.
“Not only will he be back in the league—of course I’m biased—I still feel like he has a lot of game left in him,” Miller said.
“I feel like the world hasn’t even seen him get down yet. Some of the stuff he was doing in college, he going to do the exact same thing in the National Football League. I feel like—you know you never want to blame a team—I don’t think he had enough support around him. Who knows? You might see Johnny Manziel in Denver.”
With Peyton Manning riding off into the sunset on Monday, the Broncos could use a backup QB to Brock Osweiler, who will almost for sure be the starter next season once he inks a new deal.
Could that QB be Manziel? Don’t count on it.
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