In 2014, with the 22nd overall pick in the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns decided to select one of the most highly touted quarterbacks in college football history. Johnny Manziel dazzled Saturday afternoon, after Saturday afternoon against opposing SEC defenses during his reign at Texas A&M. But there was a reason the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner was not selected a top 5 overall pick as projected, Manziel had partying habits. After pictures surfacing over the internet of “Johnny Football” dressed as Scooby-Doo at a halloween party, NFL coaches started to question whether or not this kid was ready to be a professional athlete.
On May 24th and 25th of 2014, just a little two weeks after he was drafted by the Browns, Manziel was picked up by the media partying in Vegas with New England Patriots tight end, Rob Gronkowski. Browns Head Coach at the time, Mike Pettine, made nothing out of this event and claimed “That just comes with the territory of who he is.”, well Pettine would soon find out that answer could only be given so many times. June 6th, 2014, a photo of Manziel laying on a floating swan in a swimming pool surfaces, in which he appears to be consuming alcohol in celebration of being drafted in the 28th round of the MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. A week later Johnny is seen in a short video sitting in the back of a car with a brick of cash held up to his ear, letting us know “I cant hear you. theres to much money in my ******* hand”.
A month and a couple of days after he has been drafted by the Browns, the Johnny Manziel show is in full effect. But in his first preseason game on August 8th, Johnny looks comfortable on the big stage going 7-11 for 63 yards while rushing for 27 yards on six carries. 9 days later, he is seen flipping the bird towards the Redskins sideline in a 24-23 defeat and is fined $12,000 for the gesture.
After Brian Hoyer receives the starting position, and takes a majority of the snaps in the 2014- 2015 season, we fast forward to the 2015 Browns training camp. After Hoyer is traded away to Houston it seems like Manziel will officially claim his role as the Cleveland Browns starting QB, but not so fast. The Browns sign Josh Mccown, and announce him to be the 2015 starting quarterback. Over the course of this season, Manziel’s career will take a turn for the worst.
In October he is involved in a domestic violence incident wit his girlfriend after they had apparently both been out drinking, nobody ends up hurt, and the NFL decides that Johnny will not be disciplined. The Browns announce in November that Manziel will start for the team the rest of the way after a mediocre start to the season from Mccown. His stats would go on to read: 57.8 percent completion percentage, 1,500 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. The Browns would finish with the second worst record in the NFL at 3 wins and 13 losses.
Before the final game of the season Manziel had been listed as inactive due to “concussion like symptoms”. The night before the game Johnny is seen partying in Las Vegas. Later reports stated that he showed up “disheveled and inebriated” to practice that week. Although Manziel was not scheduled to play in Sunday’s game, he was required to report to the team’s facility for mandated concussion protocol. He did not show up to the facility. More recently, Manziel’s girlfriend told police that Johnny told her “shut up or I’ll kill us both” after forcing her into a car, hitting her, and dragging her by the hair. How much longer can the NFL allow this to go on?
The purpose of this article is to not try and bash Manziel for the mistakes he has made, we are all human, but how much more of this will the NFL allow? Since Johnny Manziel has been drafted not an inkling of positive publicity has come out of him, for both the NFL and the Cleveland Browns. Mike Pettine, has been fired, and talks about the release of Manziel have already started to surface with new Head Coach Hue Jackson. As football fans, we have all seen the true potential and athletic ability of Johnny Manziel, does it anger anybody else that he’s wasting it?