Are the Cleveland Browns Ready to Move on From Johnny Football?
It looks like Johnny Manziel is not a big part of the Cleveland Browns plans moving forward. While Johnny completes a extended stay in rehab, the team's coaching staff is moving forward with plans for the 2015 season. Most reports stemming from those meeting indicate that they are not including Manziel in those plans.
Since Manziel has the QB talent that would require an offense to be built around him, it now looks like he will have to find another opportunity for his talent to shine at the NFL level.
"I think about 90 percent that they have moved on [from Manziel] in their own minds except that they really don't know who they're going to get when Johnny leaves rehab, which has been an extended stay — a two-month stay," Chris Mortenson said on ESPN. "He should be getting out some time in the first week of April if they're satisfied that he's ready to go out and get into society and that whatever deep-rooted problems that he had has been addressed."
"The bottom line is that Johnny Manziel's future with the Browns has been in question. When they were putting together half of a new offensive staff, Manziel's name barely even came up in conversation," he added.
That is not good news for Manziel, but the Browns do have a new offensive coordinator and have signed free agent QB Josh McCown with the expectation that he will be the starter at least in the short term. All of these facts seem to indicate that the Browns will look seriously at drafting a QB in the coming NFL draft.
Giving up on a first round pick one year in is not a smart move for any NFL team. It is not something the Browns can really afford to do, but by admitting they made a mistake on Manziel, that could start them on the long road to rebuilding their struggling franchise.