Cleveland Browns’ Johnny Manziel Heading For Paid Leave Amid NFL Probe?

Cleveland Browns fans may have felt they were dreaming when the flashy Johnny Manziel was selected by the team in the first round of the 2014 draft.

But, the dream Cleveland Browns fans have about the former Texas A&M quarterback a year after Manziel joined the team is more like the nightmare variety than a happily ever after fantasy.

After a stint in rehab this past off-season, Johnny rejoined his Cleveland teammates for what was hoped to be a better season than his rocky rookie year, Yahoo! Sports wrote in April. Those incidents cost him the trust of some Browns as well as pushed his poor decision-making into the limelight.

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The Browns had put those incidents in their past heading into the second year of the Johnny Manziel era, and Cleveland fans have mostly been forgiving of his youthful missteps.

However, his recent run-in with the law on October 12 could be the beginning of the end of that era. On October 12, Manziel and his girlfriend Colleen Crowley were seen arguing inside a car in Avon, Ohio. The incident prompted multiple 911 phone calls, ESPN reported.

Dash-cam footage of the incident is the most problematic of issues for the NFL and the Cleveland Browns organization. In the video, Crowley can be heard saying that Manziel had hit her multiple times, including pushing her head up against the glass. Additionally, she told the officer investigating the incident that she feared for her life at one point while pleading to drop the charges only seconds later.

Domestic violence issues aren’t the only ones that Johnny and the Cleveland Browns are worrying about as Manziel admitted to having drinks prior to the argument with Colleen. After his stint in rehab, a relapse into drinking is a nightmarish scenario for coaches and players to deal with from their second-string quarterback.

The police report painted a seemingly positive portrait for Johnny Manziel, but a lack of charges may not keep the NFL from acting on the situation, ESPN reported. The NFL has started an investigation into the incident, and Commissioner Roger Goodell could still suspend the player under the personal conduct policy. The policy would allow for Goodell to fine, suspend, or even banish the player from the Cleveland Browns roster.

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Sports columnists are applying pressure to the Cleveland Browns and the NFL to place Johnny Manziel on paid leave until the investigation is complete. Christine Brennan of USA Today bluntly asked why Johnny is still on the Cleveland Browns roster in her column that calls for swift action from the NFL.

“Let’s hope the investigators get their answers quickly, as in before this Sunday’s game. This is a high-profile case that demands answers, and action.”

Count Shaun King of the New York Daily News as someone who openly pondered if the position and skin color of Johnny Manziel played a role in how the incident was handled. In his article about the difficult situation the NFL and the Cleveland Browns face, King assessed the facts of situation.

“Come again? A man is so unsafe on the road that multiple people feel the need to call 911, he admits to drinking, and his passenger openly claims he was abusive, and he’s free to go?

Then, King asked if a black man in the same situation Johnny Manziel found himself in would have been free to go. “Would that poor black man be free to go?” King wrote. “You and I know the answer to that question.”

What do you think should be the outcome of the Johnny Manziel issue the Cleveland Browns are facing? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images]