Johnny Manziel: Lamenting a lost talent
Johnny Manziel came to the Cleveland Browns with a great deal of fanfare back when he was drafted in 2014.
The countdown until Johnny Manziel is released by the Cleveland Browns continues, and it is something that will end one of the more interesting, but also sad, sagas in Cleveland sports history.
Manziel has ruined his chances of playing for the Browns, with most of the city wanting him gone as soon as possible. He came in as a high-profile draft pick, only to ruin his reputation early on and continue to make it worse until, well, it gets worse every day.
The only team he has a logical chance of being signed by is the Dallas Cowboys, mainly because of Jerry Jones’ complete disregard for character.
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But he would join the team as a high-profile backup, if he is not suspended because of the ongoing investigation into his domestic violence dispute that has once again put him back in the news for all the wrong reasons.
All this information is known, but fans in Cleveland will be left to wonder what could have been if Manziel had cleaned himself up and had been able to focus on football.
It is clear he has personal issues that are bigger than the game of football, so it may be wrong to say that he could have easily cleaned himself up. However, he could have made the choice to do whatever it took to make himself healthy and ready to focus on football.
He had never proved himself worthy of being the team’s definite starter, but he still needed more experience, which was supposed to come in 2016. That was until the whole “showing up hungover to a meeting and him being labeled concussed” thing happened.
His play against the Kansas City Chiefs last season may have looked bad from a statistical perspective, but he showed a great deal of fight on the field throughout the entire game. It was the kind of passion Browns fans have wanted for years.
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The performance proved too good to be true, as he could not even pull himself together to play in the season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The legend of Billy Manziel was born and his reputation bottomed out amongst Browns faithful.
His story is a sad one, but not one where he is a victim. He has reportedly refused to seek help, which has led him to allegedly do some terrible things, specifically to his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley.
One can reminisce on the magic he displayed on the field in college, only to realize that the legend was a different person off the field.
Manziel came to Cleveland and had fans excited, so it is a shame his exit will draw the same amount of excitement.