The Cleveland Browns' decision not to formally interview Johnny Manziel at the NFL Scouting Combine can't speak for the club's interest or disinterest in the former Texas A&M star, because as it turns out, they didn't speak with any quarterback.
At least, not formally.
Clevelandbrowns.com senior editor Vic Carucci reported on the team's radio show, Cleveland Browns Daily, that the club not only passed on making Manziel one of its 60 allotted formal interviews, but didn't do so with anyone at the quarterback position. A strange decision given the club's need for a quarterback, although with informal interviews, pro days and private workouts, opportunities to speak with any quarterback prospect the club likes aren't difficult to come by.
"We'll make sure that whatever access we need to get to that player and whatever interaction (we need) with him, we'll get that done," Pettine said, according to cleveland.com.
If the St. Louis Rams, who have no need for a first-round quarterback, don't trade the No. 2 overall pick, it's virtually a given that at least one of the draft's top three quarterbacks -- Manziel, Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, and Central Florida's Blake Bortles -- will be available for the Browns at No. 4. The Houston Texans (No. 1) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 3) could narrow those options to just one for Cleveland, however, if both pick a quarterback.
Formal interviews or not, the Browns will have done their homework at the position.
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