Johnny Manziel is one of the most peculiar cases in the history of the NFL – he was meant to be the next big thing back in 2014.
The Cleveland Browns picked him 22nd overall during the 2014 NFL Draft and hoped that he would be the solution to a long-term quarterback problem.
He had one of the most legendary college careers of all time, but there were doubts over whether Manziel’s skillset would translate to the professional game.
The quarterback would fail to throw for a touchdown on 35 pass attempts during his rookie season (he only started two games).
Things didn’t get much better in 2015, although he did secure his first victories and threw for seven touchdowns and five interceptions across those six games.
Johnny Manziel promised to ‘work extremely hard’ for the Cleveland Browns, he later backtracked
Across two years of starting for Texas A&M at College, Manziel threw for 7,820 yards, 63 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.
Despite having a reputation for being a bit of a party animal, he produced the goods on the field and was considered a hot prospect.
When he was drafted by the Browns he promised the team and fans one thing ahead of his debut during the 2014 season.
“I’m going to pour my heart out for this team, for this organization,” he told the NFL media. “And continue to go in and just work extremely hard, and try to become the football player that I want to be and I know I can be.”
However, speaking in the Untold: Johnny Football documentary, Manziel would later admit that he watched ‘zero’ film as part of his preparations in the NFL.
He had failed to live up to his promises, and his career was a reflection of the effort (or lack thereof) that he put into it.
What happened to Johnny Manziel after the 2015 NFL season?
Following his tricky two-year spell with the Browns, Manziel was let go ahead of the 2016 season and failed to find a new home in the NFL.
One messy season in the CFL would see them cut ties with him soon in early 2019. It would effectively be the end of his career at a somewhat high level.
In an interview with TMZ in September 2020 he announced his retirement, and the hope and promise of Johnny Manziel was officially never fulfilled.
He was a great leader on the field and had plenty more to give than he did. With a little more maturity, there was a chance that he could have helped to fix the Browns.
