Browns Officially Waive QB Johnny Manziel

Update:

Johnny Manziel released a statement on Friday thanking the Browns the opportunity.

“I’d like to thank the Browns for the opportunity they gave me – nearly two years ago, we all hoped that we were building what could be a championship team for Cleveland. I will always remember the support I received from the organization, my teammates and especially the fans.“

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The Cleveland Browns announced that they’ve officially waived QB Johnny Manziel.

Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland reported earlier in the day that this move was coming at some point on Friday.

It appeared as though the Browns may have elected to cut him on Wednesday, seeing is it’s the start of a new league year and all, but reports later came out that they were waiting to see if a trade opportunity surfaced.

The Browns made it clear months ago that they were going to move on once the new league year was underway, so this should come as no surprise.

Manziel, 23, is in the second year of his four-year, $8,247,250 rookie contract that included $6,702,625 guaranteed. He’ll make a base salary of $794,936 this season and another $1,169,872 in 2016.

According to Jason Fitzgerald, the Browns would owe Manziel another $2.17 million in guaranteed money unless he agreed to void them upon being released. This is assuming Manziel clears waivers.

This season, Manziel appeared in nine games and thrown for 1,500 yards while completing 57.8 percent of his passes to go along with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Manziel has also ran for 230 yards. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 31 quarterback out of 36 qualifying players.