After 832 Days Away from the Game, Johnny Football Is Back
Apr 13, 2018
BR Video
After more than two years away from the game, Johnny Manziel returned to action in the Spring League. How did Johnny Football perform? Watch above to see how the former Browns quarterback turned in a couple vintage performances in his return to the field.
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Johnny Manziel Throws for 79 Yards, 1 TD in Loss in Spring League Debut
Apr 7, 2018
Former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) prepares for a developmental Spring League game, Saturday, April 7, 2018, in Austin, Texas. Manziel is hoping to impress NFL scouts in his bid to return to the league. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Johnny Manziel came out on the losing end in his Spring League debut on Saturday at Kelly Reeves Stadium in Austin, Texas. Manziel and the South team fell 11-7 to the North team.
The North team sacked Manziel with 58 seconds remaining in the game to force a turnover on downs, which allowed the North to run out the rest of the clock and seal the victory.
The South team got the ball back with two minutes left and needed to go 80 yards for the go-ahead score. Manziel kept the drive alive with an 11-yard scramble on 4th-and-10.
The South offense stalled after that first down, though, and the North defense suffocated Manziel on a designed run on fourth down to end the South's comeback attempt.
Manziel finished 8-of-16 for 79 yards and one touchdown through the air. His lone touchdown pass came on the first play of the second quarter. He rolled to his right and found former Baylor wide receiver Antwan Goodley in the back of the end zone:
— The Spring League 🏈 (@TheSpringLeague) April 7, 2018
Former Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans delivered what proved to be the decisive score of the game when he connected with former North Carolina tight end Jack Tabb on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 10:36 left in the fourth quarter.
For Manziel, playing in the Spring League is another step in his potential NFL comeback after he worked out at the Texas A&M Aggies' pro day in March. Saturday was his first game since the Cleveland Browns' Week 16 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2015 season.
The Spring League shared a photo of some NFL scouts in attendance for Saturday's games:
#TheSpringLeague exists to give players a chance to get back to the elite levels of football and that can only happen if scouts look at the product. Well...they’re here in numbers! pic.twitter.com/CgQIrD4zlF
— The Spring League 🏈 (@TheSpringLeague) April 7, 2018
Of course, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner still has some ways to go before he returns to the NFL, and a strong performance in the Spring League won't single-handedly erase the doubt about his future. ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert said the Spring League was equivalent to "the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason game."
Still, football fans couldn't help but get nostalgic after Manziel's touchdown pass when he displayed some of the elusiveness that helped make him a star at Texas A&M.
Manziel and the South team will return to the field for the first game of a doubleheader Thursday in Austin. Fans can stream the game on B/R Live.
Johnny Manziel Spring League 2018 Debut: Time, Live-Stream Schedule and Preview
Apr 6, 2018
Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel throws during drills at his alma mater during Texas A&M's football Pro Day in College Station, Texas, Tuesday, March 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Johnny Manziel thrust himself back into the public eye over the last few months, but despite all of the comeback talk, no one is sure what he will bring to the football field.
The former Heisman Trophy winner, who flamed out in the NFL after two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, is trying to pave a redemption trail for himself, but what he has left on the gridiron remains to be seen.
Manziel's first opportunity to showcase his talents under center in pads comes Saturday in the opening game of the 2018 Spring League.
The Spring League games are played in Austin, Texas, with four rosters comprised of players with past collegiate and professional experience.
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨#TheSpringLeague2018 rosters are here! The League will be comprised of four teams split up by location of a player's school.
Manziel is a part of the South squad that features former Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk, former Auburn running back Ben Tate and former Arkansas wide receiver Greg Childs.
Johnny Manziel Spring League Game Information
Date: Saturday, April 7
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Live Stream: B/R Live
Manziel's South team takes on the North team in the second of two games in Austin, Texas, Saturday. The East plays the West in the opening game of the doubleheader at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Before even making expectations for the 25-year-old's performance, you have to consider what he has been through since leaving Cleveland.
The former Texas A&M quarterback dealt with a litany of off-the-field issues, including coping with his depression through alcohol, a situation he described in detail in February on Good Morning America, per Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post.
"I was self-medicating with alcohol. That’s what I thought would make me happy and get out of that depression," Manziel said. "When I would wake up the next day after a night like that, going on a trip like that, and you wake up the next day and that is all gone, that liquid courage, or that liquid … sense of euphoria that is over you, is all gone."
Since appearing back in the public eye at the start of 2018, Manziel showed up at a few pro days, including one at his alma mater, but that is the extent of his on-field action.
Although he might be the biggest name on the South roster, Manziel is being treated as an equal to his teammates, and that shows when it comes to how much playing time each quarterback receives.
Manziel is expected to split snaps with Cody Keith, who spent time in the CFL after his collegiate career at East Carolina, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert.
While it is easy to get caught up in the fan fare surrounding Manziel's return to the field because of the success he achieved in college, the Spring League is the first step in a long process that might not even end up with the 25-year-old returning to the NFL.
Even if he succeeds in the Spring League and moves on to more success elsewhere, it may be hard for NFL front offices to take him seriously after the comments he made about his situation in Cleveland to the Dan Patrick Show, which were put into text by Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk.
"If Cleveland did any of their homework they would have known I wasn’t a guy who came in every day and watched film," Manziel said. "I wasn’t a guy who really knew the X’s and O’s of football.”
Manziel admitted on Twitter that the Browns weren't the right fit for him, but he also went on to take blame for the situation that arose in Cleveland.
Draft a QB in the first round and put him into a toxic Quarterback room vs. what it was like my second year with McCown. COMPLETELY different situation. It’s all about the right fit and mine in Cleveland wasn’t right. That’s just the facts. I also have nobody to blame but myself https://t.co/fuFmtG4vUz
With skepticism and intrigue running rampant, the best thing Manziel can do Saturday is put on a show when he is on the field and hope there is a team out there watching that might give him a second chance down the road.
