The NFL's 2015 offseason is only four days old and already the Cleveland Browns and their legions of faithful fans probably wish it was over (or, perhaps not, considering an atrocious, drama-filled offseason tends to portend a dumpster fire of a regular season).
From quarterback Johnny Manziel's surprise decision to enter a treatment facility to the news that owner Jimmy Haslam has created a "toxic" culture around the Browns, things don't look particularly bright or promising in Cleveland at the moment.
That soul-crushing outlook doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon as the latest bit of torment for fans of the moribund franchise has come in the shape of an allegedly ill-timed text message from GM Ray Farmer to the sidelines during a game this year - a text that, reports say, could cost the team a draft pick and has Farmer facing a suspension.
However, that may not be the only punishment facing the already-embattled executive.
Mike Florio of PFT believes that the final outcome of the investigation could lead to Farmer's firing, not from the league, but from the Browns brass and, more specifically, team owner Jimmy Haslam.
"A league source has told PFT that the messages actually went to a non-coaching employee on the sidelines, who then relayed the information to a member of the coaching staff," writes Florio.
"And while the messages may have been actually sent by Farmer (or at a minimum with his phone), the real question is whether Farmer did it on his own or whether he did so with the knowledge or at the direction of folks above him in the organization. Such as, for example, the owner of the team."
Florio believes that Farmer may simply be the "fall guy" for Haslam, and that if Haslam doesn't fire him after the punishment is handed down by the NFL, it will prove he's simply taking the bullet for Haslam.
It's difficult to say what sanctions the violation will incur and we may never find out the true story behind the text, but in an already abysmal offseason for the Browns, there may be a difficult-to-see silver lining: things seem, hopefully, unable to get any worse.
