DALLAS — An attorney for former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel calls the indictment against him “incredible” and said Tuesday that the way it’s been handled so far suggests there are problems with the case.

Manziel was indicted Tuesday on allegations by ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley that he hit her and threatened to kill her in late January.

Crowley said in court documents that Manziel struck her so hard that she temporarily lost hearing in one ear, and the indictment accuses him of “forcing (her) into a vehicle and against a vehicle dashboard.”

Manziel faces a charge of misdemeanor assault related to family violence, which carries up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Manziel’s attorneys said Tuesday that their client will plead not guilty.

One of the attorneys, Robert Hinton, told The Associated Press that he thought police and prosecutors had treated the case as though they didn’t want it to go forward.

Lawyers who aren’t involved in the case have noted that Dallas police chose to refer their case to a grand jury rather than arrest Manziel outright, which is unusual for misdemeanor cases.

“If this were Johnny Smith, the district attorney’s office would have declined to accept the case, in my judgment,” Hinton said in a phone interview Tuesday. “This is not a very credible case. As a matter of fact, it’s incredible. There’s just not much to it.”

Hinton said he did not anticipate making a deal to end the case before trial, though he said talks of any deal were premature.

Manziel is in Los Angeles, but is expected to present himself for booking Thursday or Friday, once the case is formally assigned to a judge and bond is set, Hinton said.

“He’s got a great attitude,” he said. “He’s ready to face it and do what we need to do to defend him.”

Bengals: The Bengals released linebacker A.J. Hawk, a native of southwest Ohio who starred at Ohio State.

Hawk joined the Bengals as a free agent last spring after spending nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers and departing as that team’s career leader in tackles.

GIANTS: Victor Cruz high-stepped with the rest of his teammates during warm-ups for Giants Coach Ben McAdoo’s inaugural three-day, voluntary minicamp at the Giants’ field house.

When the calisthenics session ended, the veteran wide receiver left the light drills to others. He had his own work to do outside.

Cruz continued his rehabilitation from last year’s calf surgery. Coupled with the reconstruction of his patellar tendon in 2014, Cruz has been out of action the past 18 months.

His goal, and the Giants’ desire, is that he not only return this year as a second receiving option to the explosive Odell Beckham, Jr., but that Cruz comes back as the same game-breaking pass catcher who accounted for 23 receiving touchdowns between 2011 and 2013.

Tuesday marked another small step in that process.

“Just the fact that I was out there, just being in those stretch lines after a long, lost year, it felt good just to be out there,” Cruz said. “And then, just doing a pretty good workout on the treadmill behind them felt good.”

The franchise’s evaluation of how far Cruz has progressed will determine in some part whether GM Jerry Reese tabs a receiver with one of his six picks in this week’s draft.