Buckle up, Browns fans.
An already bumpy offseason may be about to get just a tad more ridiculous.
According to a report from Vic Carrucci of The Buffalo News, Cleveland is atop the depth chart of NFL franchises to potentially be featured on the latest installment of "Hard Knocks."
"Hearing the #Browns are front-runners for next featured team on HBO Hard Knocks series," Carucci tweeted Sunday afternoon.
In 2013, the NFL passed a "Hard Knocks" rule which would compel one team per year to participate in the joint, NFL/HBO venture.
The process will begin with the league asking for volunteers but, thanks in large part to the clandestine nature of NFL coaching staff's and their disinclination to share their schematic secrets with the football world at large, the NFL added parameters for appointing an otherwise unwilling participant.
"All organizations will be eligible with the exception of those that have a first-year head coach; teams that have made the playoffs in at least one of the last two seasons; and teams that have participated in the previous 10 seasons," according to a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Despite the fact that any number of coaches and players league wide view the reality TV series - and that's essentially what it is - as an invasion of privacy that puts them at a direct tactical disadvantage to their opponents, the Browns would be a phenomenal choice for a myriad of reasons.
Johnny Manziel and his pending redemption tour, as he looks to emerge from a voluntary rehab stint a new man and new quarterback, seeking to improve upon a lost rookie season that ened in unbelievably ineffective, atrocious fashion amidst reports of his continued failings in terms of professionalism and preparedness.
The "other" first-round pick, cornerback Justin Gilbert, who struggled to make a meaningful impact of any kind and was called out by teammates for a sense of entitlement.
Josh Gordon.
The relationship between head coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer - rumored to have soured during last season - thanks to Farmer's meddling with coaching decisions, at least one instance of which occurred during a game.
The reportedly over-bearing presence of team-owner Jimmy Haslam - the man that has developed a "toxic culture" around the franchise - and the opportunity to view the depths to which his own Dan Snyder-esque interfering truly goes.
And finally, the chance to get a glimpse inside a promising Browns team that boasts a strong defense and some important pieces on offense, struggling against the lack of a franchise quarterback and the seemingly ubiquitous presence of their own worst enemy - themselves.
