2014 NFL Draft: Welcome to the Silly Season

As we approach the Draft, it is always important to take rumors with a grain of salt. Every team in the league right now is feeding false information to reporters to try and throw the other teams off the scent of their true intentions. What makes me say that? Take this Jim Nantz rumor from today.

"I can say this, he’s going to be the guy everyone wants to see. I’ve heard this rumor for a month -- the Cowboys will figure out a way to get Manziel."

You can never totally rule out Jerry Jones trying to make a splashy move, but the odds feel strongly stacked against this one from happening.

Just go to OverTheCap.com and do the math. If the Cowboys trade for Manziel, Tony Romo is presumably out the door. He can't be, though, because of his contract. The Cowboys are currently $6 million under the cap. Cutting Romo would cost them $37 million, and trading him would cost around $29 million. You have to wait until 2018 for cutting Romo to cost under $10 million in dead money. So are the Cowboys going to sell the ranch to get Manziel, and then not play him for three years? Are they going to have Romo take up eight figures of cap space and not play him?

So be skeptical about rumors from now until the Draft. Some are valid. Many are not.