Cleveland Browns NFL 2015 News: Should the Browns Dump Johnny Maziel?

By Joshua Lobdell, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, February 17, 2015

There is only one word that can adequately describe Cleveland Browns QB Johnny Manziel's rookie season: disastrous. What should be more concerning to the Browns brain trust is not how bad Johnny looked on the field but what the players in their locker room or saying about the player taken with the 22nd overall pick in last year's draft.

Just after the Browns decide if Manziel, who is currently in rehab, is good enough to play in the NFL, they will have to asses if he can regain the trust of his teammates. If he cannot it would be better for Cleveland to start over from scratch at this most critical of positions.

Since Cleveland returned to the NFL in 1999 they have not been able to find a true franchise QB. Worse is that NFL.com is reporting that the Browns have not had a starting QB play all 16 games since Tim Couch accomplished was in 2001. No one can count Couch's career in Cleveland as successful, but 14 years without one QB plaingy all 16 games leads to talk of a Cleveland QB curse, or maybe it just underscores the level of dysfunction within the organization.

There are a number of reports out there of Manziel's teammates not only questioning his work ethic, but his actual ability on the field. If that cannot be erased there is little chance that Manziel will be able to be successful with his current team.

The Browns could possibly draft another young QB in this year's draft and create a quarterback competition to play out during Training Camp. However, if his players are unwilling to do those things necessary to help Manziel be successful, then the Browns are between a rock and a hard place.

Given all of the other controversy surrounding this team the last thing the Browns need is more drama in their locker room. If Manziel has lost his team than it only makes sense for the Browns to go in a different direction sooner rather than later. With two first round picks they have maneuverability to land another good QB prospect and enough cap room to possibly bring in a veteran QB as his mentor.