Johnny Manziel’s football career hit quite the road block when he was barred from the Canadian Football League at the end of February, leading to his release by the Montreal Alouettes. It took a few weeks, but Manziel has found a new home to continue his professional career back in the United States.
Adam Schefter of ESPN announced that Manziel would head to the Alliance of American Football, the nascent league in which every team has played five or six games so far in 2019. Due to a mechanism within the league’s rules, Manziel headed straight to the waiver wire.
Source: Johnny Manziel has signed the Alliance of American Football Standard Player Agreement.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2019
Johnny Manziel now will go through the AAF waiver system since the San Antonio Commanders released his college allocation rights. Lowest win-loss percentage up first for Johnny Football.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2019
It didn’t take long for Manziel to find a home. The first team that had the opportunity to acquire his services, the Memphis Express, claimed the former Heisman Trophy winner.
Welcome to The Alliance, @JManziel2. pic.twitter.com/CO1z4eiDLb
— The Alliance (@TheAAF) March 17, 2019
Welcome to the 901 @JManziel2
✈️ | #AllAboard pic.twitter.com/06qoyXzi5z
— Memphis Express (@aafexpress) March 17, 2019
“We are pleased to welcome Johnny Manziel to Alliance of American Football, which we’ve always described as a league of opportunity for talented players to launch or revitalize their pro football careers,” AAF Head of Football Bill Polian said in a statement, according to Ben Kercheval of CBS Sports. “We completed extensive background work to determine whether it would be appropriate for Johnny to play this season, and after consulting with many people familiar with his situation, we concluded that it would be good for him to resume his pro football career here at The Alliance.”
Manziel fills a gigantic need for Mike Singletary’s squad, which sits at a league-worst 1-5 on the year. Opening day starter Christian Hackenberg struggled for the Express, which led to him getting pulled. His replacement, Zach Mettenberger, hurt his ankle last week.
