Former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel has reached a tentative deal with prosecutors to dismiss his domestic-violence assault case involving his former girlfriend, the Associated Press reports.
Defense attorney Jim Darnell said there was still work to be done to finalize the deal, but said after a Thursday morning hearing that he was encouraged. A judge set another hearing for Dec. 1, when the case could be settled.
Manziel, the Browns' 2014 first-round pick who was released earlier this offseason over myriad off-field issues, originally had the domestic violence case involving then-girlfriend Colleen Crowley referred to the grand jury.
Crowley's attorney alleged that Manziel ruptured her eardrum during the altercation. Crowley also alleged that Manziel struck her several times and threatened to kill them both. Manziel denied any wrongdoing.
If the case had gone to trial, Manziel would have faced a maximum punishment of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine for the Class A misdemeanor.
Manziel was in the news frequently this offseason -- and almost always for the wrong reasons -- but he has been laying low in recent months. In September, TMZ asked him about returning to the Browns after Robert Griffin III was injured in Week 1.
"I doubt that'll happen," he said at the time, adding, "I wish them the best." He also told the website that he is "glad to be back in school" and that the classes "are going well."
In February, Manziel's father said that if his son didn't get help he wouldn't live to see his 24th birthday, which is Dec. 6.
