Browns deny covering for drunk Manziel by lying about concussion
The Cleveland Browns denied a report from NFL Network's Michael Silver that said the team listed quarterback Johnny Manziel on its injury report with a concussion before Week 17 after he showed up to practice drunk.
In a statement from a team spokesperson, the Browns insist Manziel reported concussion symptoms to the team:
Johnny Manziel came to our facility on the morning of December 30th and complained of concussion symptoms. He was tested by an independent neurologist and entered the league's concussion protocol. He remained in the protocol until January 12th after being cleared by the independent neurologist.
A report from ESPN's Adam Schefter cites a Browns source who said Manziel wasn't drunk that day, but that he was recovering from from something.
"Manziel looked terrible," the source told Schefter. "He wasn't drunk, but he was heavily hung over on something. There was something going on there.
"This wasn't some massive cover-up. What are you going to do? You have to put him in the protocol."
Silver initially indicated the Browns were aware Manziel was drunk and condemned the team's decision to put Manziel on the injury report as willfully enabling him.
Following the Browns' denial, Silver reiterated his report that Manziel was visibly drunk but backed off his position concerning whether the team intentionally lied to cover it up:
5) If the Browns say they did not lie about Manziel's diagnosis, I will take them at their word, and I regret using that term ("lied").
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) February 9, 2016
The Browns could be subject to NFL discipline if it's determined they weren't truthful on their injury report, but it's unlikely the NFL wants to go down the dangerous road of allowing teams to tell players who report concussion symptoms that they don't actually have concussions.
Manziel is expected to be released by the Browns when the new NFL league year begins in March.