Browns send message to Johnny Manziel that sounds a lot like goodbye

Johnny Manziel once again found himself in the headlines over the weekend, with police investigating an incident between the quarterback and an ex-girlfriend (the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported the woman as Colleen Crowley, who had a previous altercation with Manziel in Ohio in October), though Manziel was not arrested.

And the Cleveland Browns have seen enough. The team sent Manziel a public message on Tuesday , one that sounds a lot like "goodbye."

	Cleveland Browns @Browns
Full statement from Sashi Brown pic.twitter.com/uddEr5FE8a 9:18 AM - 2 Feb 2016 Twitter by:Cleveland Browns@Browns

The key quote, attributed to vice president of football operations Sashi Brown: "Johnny's continual involvement in incidents that run counter to those expectations undermines the hard work of his teammates and the reputation of our organization."

When Cleveland hired Hue Jackson as head coach last month, there were reports that he didn't want to tie his fortunes to Manziel, who has proven unreliable (at best) during his two years with the Browns.

As of just a few days ago, Jackson said he had yet to talk to Manziel, though he'd talked with numerous members of the roster he inherited. The coach told reporter Tony Grossi earlier Tuesday that he was disappointed to get the news of Manziel's most recent incident.

"My general reaction would be disappointment," Jackson said. "As I've said many times, I would like for the Cleveland Browns' players to conduct themselves in a manner that represents the organization well. Obviously, that reflected differently on what we want to have happen. Obviously, it's a process that we're going through, and we'll continue to go through it."

The Browns' statement mentions Manziel's status with the team will be addressed "when permitted by league rules," which boils down to the calendar. As explained by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the earliest the NFL allows Cleveland to cut Manziel is next week, but the team will release him on March 9, the first day of the new league year.

Manziel has guarantees in his contract that mandate the Browns must have space under the salary cap to cover his release; by cutting him in the 2016 league year, that money will go under the '16 cap. Nearly all of Manziel's $8.25 million four-year rookie deal is guaranteed.