Bench Life Sports

After a not-so-successful stint with the Cleveland Browns to begin his NFL career, Johnny Football took his talents north of the border to play in the CFL. It was pretty clear that he didn’t see the CFL as his future career, but rather a stepping stone on his journey to get back to the NFL. One season later, and it looks like Comeback SZN might be over for Manziel.

When Manziel first signed a deal to play in Hamilton, I was all aboard the bandwagon. Maybe I was just being a little too optimistic, but I thought that he would set the league on fire. His skills didn’t translate well from college to the NFL, but they seemed like a perfect fit to succeed in Canada. Despite seemingly being built to play in the CFL, his time in Hamilton didn’t go as planned, and after spending the first few weeks of the season stuck to the bench he was traded to Montreal.

A fresh start as a chance to be a starting quarterback couldn’t hurt, but it just so happens that Montreal was one of the worst teams in the CFL last season. Similar to his situation with the Browns, Manziel was thrown into a situation where it would be very difficult for him to succeed. His first taste of CFL action came against the Ti-Cats in Week 8. With a little extra motivation to play well against the team that gave up on him, Manziel proceeded to throw 4 interceptions in his first game. It wasn’t until Week 16 against Saskatchewan that Money Monziel threw his first touchdown pass.

In the end, Montreal finished last season with a 5-13 record and missed the playoffs. What looked to be a promising opportunity for Manziel to resurrect his once-promising football career turned out to be yet another disappointment. His CFL career stat line closes (for the time being) at 106 completions on 165 attempts for 1290 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions.

Shortly after it was announced that Manziel was being released from Montreal, he took to Twitter to thank his coach, teammates, and the CFL fans while also announcing his plans to pursue opportunities back in the United States. While he didn’t name any specific league or organization, it’s pretty safe to assume that Manziel is hoping to get a shot in the AAF. However, if Manziel takes some time to decide, there’s also a possibility of him joining the XFL when it begins in 2020.

As we wait to see what the next chapter for Manziel is, let’s take a look back at some college highlights. After all, it was at Texas A&M when Johnny Manziel became Johnny Football. Let’s remember the good times, and hope that Manziel can figure things out for himself, both on and off the field.