CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 21: Johnny Manziel #2 of the Cleveland Browns watches from the bench during the second half of a loss to the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on December 21, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Earlier today, the NFL world was buzzing over a report from the New York Post claiming the Cleveland Browns lied about Johnny Manziel having a concussion during the last week of the regular season. Michael Silver of the NFL Network backed up that report by confirming a report that Manziel was actually drunk at practice and not concussed, and that the Browns covered it up. The Browns, as expected, have denied that story.

“Johnny Manziel was diagnosed with a concussion by an independent neurologist,” the Browns said in a released statement, which was relayed by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “He wasn’t cleared until Jan. 12. The fact that people are saying we lied about [Manziel’s] concussion is false.”

In short, the Browns called the New York Post and NFL Network liars, which of course did not go unnoticed by Silver. Silver took to Twitter to state his case and defend his reporting while also dialing back his usage of the word “lied”.

(Pretty sure he was going for team facility, unless Cleveland has a facility specifically for green tea, herbal tea, or iced tea, which sounds pretty refreshing)

To pile on the Browns a little bit more, ESPN also reported information that supports the original reports regarding Manziel’s state, with Adam Schefter having a “well-placed Browns source” saying Manziel was “heavily hung over on something.”

“This wasn’t some massive cover-up,” the source told Schefter. “What are you going to do? You have to put him in the protocol.

“… He was not drunk that day, but he was (recovering) from being on something. I don’t know what he was doing the night before, but something was wrong with him.”

It seems like there is information coming from both sides that differs in some respects, leading me to suspect the truth is likely found somewhere in the middle of the two. Either way, Silver now admits the suggestion the Browns lied about the status of Manziel came across misguided and perhaps a bit stronger than it should have been. He is not backing down from his reporting, which no reporter should if they trust their sources.

The Browns still have some issues to take care of and probably wish they could hop in their time traveling DeLorean to avoid drafting Manziel in the first place.

[Cleveland.com, ESPN]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.