CLEVELAND -- Ten weeks since the league revealed it would investigate the Browns' text-messaging habits on game days, the case is still open. This week's NFL owners meetings brought no clarity but did remind that the end is near. As ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, two of the league's four teams under investigation -- the Browns and the Falcons, for manufactured crowd noise -- could get hit with "severe" sanctions in the next few days.

Here's to making this easy for the NFL, with what could have saved them the two-plus-months of probing.

Take away a draft pick, maybe a fourth- or fifth-round pick, and put the case to rest.

If general manager Ray Farmer texts 17 weeks' worth of inflammatory stuff, hit the Browns with a third-round pick on general principle.

But no need to go nuclear, not for this.

The Browns have 10 picks this year, including six in the first 115 picks, an advantage no other team has through the first three-and-a-half rounds as far as volume. Taking away one of the team's fourth-round picks (115th overall) or the fifth-rounder (147th) would be manageable but still punish the team for what's a clear violation of the rules.

As colleague Pat McManamon pointed out, the context of the texts means less than the existence of them. "It's the fact that you broke the rule," said Goodell, via McManamon. "Any violation of our rules is something we take very seriously."

A general manager sending texts to fellow employees breaks NFL communication rules. At the NFL combine last month, Farmer publicly acknowledged he sent texts on Sundays and apologized for it. He claimed emotions got the best of him. Former general managers can sympathize with Farmer. Watching the players you picked struggle on the field is pure agony, they say. But Farmer broke the long-standing NFL mantra that coaches coach, not general managers.

Think about the rule-breaking here, though. If the league ranked its violations by level of significance, sending fairly harmless game-day texts wouldn't be high. The most damage done by Farmer is by the feelings of coaches and players he potentially hurt.

Suspending Farmer could happen, but doing so during draft season would be mean-spirited. Navigating a draft without a GM cripples the entire franchise. I suppose the league could postpone the suspension start date, or opt for a fine, which would be easier for the team.

The NFL has to do something -- this is a bad look for Farmer and the Browns -- but the actions, on the surface, seem more petty than damning. They shouldn't warrant the loss of a high pick.