Decisions like this could help explain why the Browns haven't made a playoff run since 2002.
Embattled quarterback Johnny Manziel sat out the final game of the season with what the team dubbed as a concussion, but as it turns out, the former Heisman Trophy winner was sidelined due to showing up drunk to practice on Dec. 30.
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Rather than report the facts about Manziel, who had checked into alcohol rehab last offseason, the Browns made a foolish attempt to cover it up by saying he was going through concussion protocol.
Like most lies, the Browns were caught in the end.
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"I was with a Browns player yesterday. Johnny Manziel, going in to what would have been a start late in the season, showed up drunk at practice on a Wednesday," NFL Network's Michael Silver reported. "The Browns lied and said he was in the concussion protocol. Let me say that again: The Browns lied. To try to protect and, I would argue, enable this irresponsible and very troubled young man."
Silver later said he regretted throwing the Browns under the bus, but he insisted Manziel was drunk.
NFL Network's Mike Silver regrets saying the Browns lied about Manziel's concussion, still says Manziel was drunk https://t.co/15nhhi4u7G
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 9, 2016
Silver was absolutely correct in saying Cleveland enabled its wayward quarterback. Rather than addressing the problem head-on, the team chose to try and lie about it, which only further adds to the issues the signal caller has gone through.
Manziel was seen partying during the Browns' bye week in Week 11 and tried to say the video was old before getting caught in the lie and subsequently benched for two games. He was then seen partying in a disguise in Las Vegas in January, adding to the booze-fueled headache he was quickly becoming for the Browns.
In between both of those incidents, Manziel showed up drunk to practice and rather than let him get the punishment he deserved, the Cleveland brass decided to shove it under the rug. The Browns fired coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer after the season, adding Hue Jackson as the new coach.
Jackson has already all but guaranteed the team will be moving on from Manziel, who has also had two violent incidents with ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley over the last few months, in March. This could finally be a sign that things are trending in the right direction.
First, the organization turned a blind eye when Manziel could have used its help, now it seems they'll be moving on from him altogether.
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