It was quite an up-and-down 2015 season for Johnny Manziel. The Browns’ quarterback was given the opportunity to play quite a bit for Cleveland and, while he showed flashes of the on-field brilliance that won him the Heisman Trophy in college, he was unable to stop his off-field antics from getting in the way.
Manziel ended up throwing for 1,500 yards passing with seven touchdowns and five interceptions to go along with 230 rushing yards. But it appears as though his days as a Brown are over after two seasons — with signs pointing at him ending up in Dallas next year — as the Browns’ organization is assuredly tired of seeing Manziel’s name coming up in headlines unrelated to his play on the field.
The most recent incident involved Manziel’s whereabouts on or around January 2, the night before Cleveland’s final game of the season against the Steelers. There were reports that Manziel was spotted at a Las Vegas casino, even though he posted an Instagram photo of himself at home with his dog. Although Manziel was inactive, he was still required to show up at the team facility because he was in concussion protocol.
JFF1: Reported this on @SNFonNBC re Manziel: Browns require players in concussion protocol to be seen by team medic at 9 am on Sunday …
— Peter King (@peter_king) January 4, 2016
No one was able to confirm for sure whether or not Manziel was at the casino because no pictures were taken. That fact led to the absolutely insane rumor that Johnny Football actually went to a Vegas strip club in disguise wearing a blonde wig and calling himself “Billy.”
That story would be bonkers enough on its own, but, sadly for Manziel, that was just one of his more ridiculous moments of the season. There was also the time when he lost his starting job after being spotted in a nightclub during a bye week. This was, of course, after Manziel went to rehab in the offseason. Then there was Manziel’s hilarious explanation for the evidence against him, telling the media “videos can be old.”
Months later, Manziel got pulled over for allegedly fighting with his girlfriend. Par for the course when it comes to Manziel, video of the incident surfaced online.
On the lighter side of things was Johnny signing a $100 bill for a fan.
And then WWE got involved in the trolling of Manziel, sending WWE Champ Seth Rollins out to diss him on Monday Night Raw.
“Idiot Face.”
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Through it all, though, and despite all the off-field distractions, Manziel proved he has the potential to make spectacular plays on the football field.
Not since Tim Tebow will there be more interest during the offseason about where a backup quarterback ends up, as Manziel’s separation from the Browns and new team speculation will undoubtedly be one of the most talked about stories in the offseason — especially if it’s Dallas.
Despite his mistakes, Manziel is talented enough to get a second chance somewhere in the NFL, and he still has the potential to turn his pro career into what the Browns thought it could be after drafting him in 2014. Still, in order for that to happen, it would probably behoove Manziel to not have enough off-the-field incidents to warrant a “All Of Johnny Manziel’s Most Ridiculous Moments In The 2016 Season” article a year from now.
