With Johnny Manziel now in full comeback mode, NFL teams have the opportunity to prove just how nuts they are should they take the kid on.
Are you ready for some Johnny Football? Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel wants to be back in the NFL and is serious about returning to the league.According to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, Manziel re-hired agent Erik Burkhardt on Wednesday. Burkhardt cut ties with the former quarterback after he was accused of domestic violence by ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley and after it became obvious that Manziel’s future was in his own hands. NFL teams are in Indianapolis this week for the annual pre-draft scouting combine and Manziel is drawing real interest from teams, according to Rapoport and Garafolo.
Comeback is real: Johnny Manziel has re-hired agent @ErikBurkhardt after Burkhardt had him make serious commitments, per @MikeGarafolo & me
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 1, 2017
Johnny Manziel, serious enough to get Burkhardt to take him back, is drawing real interest from teams at the Combine, per @MikeGarafolo & me
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 1, 2017
I have an obvious yet reaffirming message to all the teams that have an interest and are considering signing the former quarterback: Don’t sign Johnny.
Signing Manziel would be like signing your own death sentence. It’s simply not worth it, despite any marketing windfalls they may come to fruition.
The former Heisman Trophy winner was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2014. He played in just eight games in his first season and failed to become the star that the Browns and fans expected him to be. In two season with the Browns, Manziel completed 147 passes for 1,675 yards and seven touchdowns and had seven interceptions. The Browns cut him last March.
The Browns didn’t necessarily cut Johnny Football because of his performance on the field. They cut him mainly for what he did off the field. While with the Browns he made headlines off the field not on it as he partied a lot and didn’t take his job as an NFL quarterback seriously.
Then there’s the misdemeanor domestic assault charge that he faces for an incident with Crowley. Crowley accused him of kidnapping, beating and threatening to kill her during a fight. On Tuesday, Judge Roberto Canas told Manziel that he was worried that the quarterback wasn’t taking his conditional agreement seriously because he had missed a deadline to update the court on his progress. Manziel told the judge that he needs to get his life in order and that his life is trending upward, according to Naheed Rajwani of the Dallas Morning News.
“Everything has been going extremely smoothly and my life is trending upward,” he said. “So I don’t even want to let this get anywhere near the rabbit hole that you were describing. This situation is in my hands. … I need to get my life in order. These are the things I need to do.”
He left the courthouse saying that he wants to play football. But what team would possibly want to sign him and would he put football first this time? Manziel could really be trying to turn his life around and could put football first if a team signs him, but it’s a risk because you don’t know how he would perform and whether he would be focused on just football or not.
NFL teams, if you’re thinking about signing Manziel don’t do it because it’s not worth the risk and it would be a complete waste of time and money.
