A prolonged stretch of good behavior by nearly every NFL player and employee has caused the new realities of the post-Ray Rice NFL to fade a bit from memory. Those new realities could be returning to focus soon.
The revised Personal Conduct Policy, promulgated by the league without the consent of the NFL Players Association in December 2014 (the NFL believed the union’s consent wasn’t needed), allows for the unilateral placement of players on paid leave pending the outcome of league investigations and/or criminal prosecutions regarding allegations of violence.
Crafted in direct response to the problem of domestic violence, the revised conduct policy gives the league wide latitude and discretion to determine who does or doesn’t get placed on paid leave. Based on information emerging on Monday, paid leave becomes at least a possibility for Bills running back LeSean McCoy and Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel.
As to McCoy, he and former NFL running back Curtis Brinkley allegedly sent a couple of off-duty cops to the hospital as the result of a fight over a bottle of champagne. As to Manziel, he allegedly hit his ex-girlfriend so hard in the ear that she couldn’t hear in one ear for several days.
Whatever happens with both guys, the Browns could be sweating this one out for exactly one month, until they acquire the cap space to cut him. If the league puts him on paid leave before March 9, they possibly won’t be able to cut him until the investigation and any eventual prosecution ends, potentially requiring the Browns to pay his $1.169 million salary for 2016.
Presumably, the Browns could act sooner by creating roughly $2 million in cap space immediately, through the cutting of veteran players and/or renegotiation of existing contract during the final weeks of the 2015 league year. The Browns otherwise can’t dump Manziel’s contract because all remaining cap space for 2015 already has been carried to 2016.