Johnny Manziel says Browns didn’t do ‘any of their homework’ before drafting him
Johnny Manziel on Wednesday morning made some provocative remarks about the Cleveland Browns during an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
In essence, Manziel — currently trying to resurrect his professional football career in the Spring League — argues that had the Browns “did any of their homework” before selecting him with the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft the team would have realized he wasn’t a really strong “X’s and O’s” guy.
"If Cleveland did any of their homework they would have known I wasn't a guy who came in every day and watch film. I wasn't a guy who really knew the X's and O's of football." – Johnny Manziel on @dpshow
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) April 4, 2018
A somewhat startling admission, indeed. However, Manziel added that his lack of preparedness wasn’t solely from not watching film every day. Instead, it also had to do with the kind of offense he operated in at Texas A&M.
One thing to clarify, Johnny said he didn't know X's and O's in large part because his offense at Texas A&M was so different than what the Browns were running. I'm sure he's not alone in that regard. https://t.co/eEXW3a0ubc
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) April 4, 2018
Johnny Manziel tells @dpshow that he didn't understand pro offense coming out of Texas A&M's spread and there was no one in the Browns quarterback room to help him.
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) April 4, 2018
Manziel also indicated the chances of him playing in the Canadian Football League — which has been bandied about — “very much so” remains a possibility.
"It was definitely close. I feel like earlier this year we got the OK to go to Canada. … They kind of slacked on the negotiations. …. We said we had other options. The "Spring League" was one of those other options." – Johnny Manziel on @dpshow
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) April 4, 2018
That said, Manziel insisted he is holding out hope the NFL will come calling, saying, “It doesn’t take 32 teams to like me. It just takes one to take a little bit of a chance.”
Manziel also realizes after being away from the game for so long, options like the Spring League and CFL would be necessary.
“I have to have a step forward after being away from football for two years,” Manziel said. “This is step one on getting back to where I need to be, even though it’s not the exact equivalent of where I want to be.”
Manziel, who has cleaned up his personal life significantly, clearly is very serious about resuming his football career and has been incredibly candid about the troubles that led to his NFL purgatory. The 25-year-old believes his strong showing during some recent Pro Day workouts opened some eyes amid NFL teams.
With each step in the process, Manziel is demonstrating that perhaps his days in the NFL are not necessarily in the rear-view mirror. All he’s asking for is a second chance. It only remains to be seen if a team is willing to offer him one.
