Cleveland Browns

Johnny Manziel to have domestic assault case dismissed

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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According to a report by the Associated Press, Johnny Manziel may soon clear one of his legal hurdles.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has tweeted a summation of an AP report detailing the likely outcome of a domestic assault charge against Johnny Manziel by his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley:

It’s just the latest update in a case that has seen many bizarre twists, including Manziel’s former attorney sending an accidental text to the Associated Press that showed his concern about Manziel complying with a plea agreement requiring him to stay clean and sober.

For the embattled quarterback, who has seen a precipitous downfall since being taken 22nd overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2014, the likelihood of the charges being dismissed has to be a relief.

With that said, his legal battles are likely far from over, and a return to the NFL, while still plausible, will require an overhaul of his lifestyle that he has yet to make.

It’s unclear whether this case — the most serious of the allegations levied against Manziel — will make any team more inclined to give the electric talent a tryout. But one has to imagine Manziel’s seemingly unending slew of off-field incidents would be enough to render him toxic to any NFL squad looking forward.

After all, the 14 games he played for the Browns over the course of the 2014-15 seasons never lived up to his time at Texas A&M, although an adjustment period was to be expected for the diminutive quarterback.

And it was clearly his penchant for jet-setting to Vegas and the legend of Billy Vegas that played the biggest part of his being cut by the Browns and remaining a free agent despite being reinstated by the NFL in October.

Perhaps unsurprising now, Manziel was handed a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. The suspension elapsed four games into the season despite his absence from an NFL roster.

Even when — or perhaps the better word is if — Manziel is able to overcome his legal troubles and personal demons, it remains to be seen if his talent will be enough to get him signed by the most desperate of teams.

Perhaps the more prescient question is whether the immense talent he flashed at A&M, talent which earned him a Heisman Trophy, still remains in any recognizable form.

In 2015, his first year with significant playing time as an NFL starter, Manziel posted an average of only 166.7 yards per game while posting a TD-interception ratio of 7-5. While he did have 230 yards rushing on the year, his improvisational style proved less effective against superior NFL defensive speed than it did in the SEC.

Then again, the Browns haven’t won a game since Manziel led them to a victory over the 49ers in December of last year.

So maybe, and that’s a big-time maybe, there’s still a chance for Johnny Comeback to emerge, and the dismissal of the domestic assault charges against him may just be the first step.

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