Failure was always an option when the Cleveland Browns chose Johnny Manziel with the 22nd pick of the 2014 draft. Only the quickness and the magnitude with which he has fallen come as any sort of real surprise.
Failure was always an option when the Cleveland Browns chose Johnny Manziel with the 22nd pick of the 2014 draft. Only the quickness and the magnitude with which he has fallen come as any sort of real surprise.
NFL history is filled with first-round quarterbacks who went bust. This is especially true in the latter half of the round. This is especially true with players who have “The Cleveland Browns select” attached to their names.
And Manziel arrived with baggage that went far beyond the norm. That the Browns would choose to cut loose the baggage after just two years isn’t a shock when one considers the off-the-field issues that took on additional danger in his second season.
At Texas A&M, Manziel was a partying kid, a frat boy who flaunted his privileged status and thumbed his nose at the establishment. There was something vaguely charming about his unwillingness to fit in comfortably.
But when he turned pro, instead of maturing, he went the other direction. The man loves Vegas and selfies and his own off-key singing far more than any adult ever should. Maybe, it seemed, he just wanted out of Cleveland where head coach Mike Pettine never really seemed to embrace the drafting of Manziel to begin with.
A long stay in rehab suggested Manziel was on the right track, that the time to take himself seriously and get on with his only marginally promising career was at hand. It didn’t happen. Instead, the off-the-field antics took on a serious tone through altercations with his girlfriend that brought Dallas and Fort Worth police into his life.
When his father told The Dallas Morning News during Super Bowl week that Manziel would be dead before his 24th birthday if he didn’t get professional help, we knew all the laughs were over.
On the field, Manziel flashed potential only briefly for the Browns. He was better in his second season than his first, going 2-4 in six starts and throwing for more than 300 yards against Pittsburgh in defeat. But his season ended with a puzzling trip to the league’s concussion protocol that may have been fueled by drunken or hung over behavior at the Browns’ practice facility.
When Cleveland hired Hue Jackson for a fresh start at head coach, there was little doubt that the former Raiders head coach would seek to go a new direction at quarterback.
The only question of importance now is whether or not Manziel will seek the help he needs. Creating highlights on the football field is a thing of the past. There’s no assurance it has any place in his future.