Johnny Manziel

Although the Canadian Football League originally seemed like a stepping stone in Johnny Manziel's attempted return to the NFL, he is now planning on returning to the Montreal Alouettes next season.

"I didn't really know what to expect when I got here," Manziel said Sunday, per the team's official Twitter account. "This league has exceeded my expectations as far as talent and what kind of league it is. I'm happy here, right now. I'm looking forward to next season — I'm all in on this team for next year."

The Alouettes played their final game of the 2018 season Saturday but failed to make the playoffs.

The squad finished 5-13 on the season, with Manziel only winning in two of his starts.

He ended the year with 1,290 passing yards, throwing five touchdowns and seven interceptions. While this numbers don't jump out, he expects more success in 2019.

"There were growing pains, but I truly feel like I'll be better...moving forward," he said, per Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette. "I'll be much better next season."

The CFL season represented Manziel's first competitive action since starting six games for the Cleveland Browns in 2015. The 2014 first-round NFL draft pick originally signed a two-year deal with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats but didn't see the field in four games before being traded to Montreal.

His play certainly wasn't good enough to get attention from NFL teams, but he should be able to return to the Alouettes to try for more success in 2019.

Johnny Manziel ended his first season with the Montreal Alouettes on a high note. The former Heisman Trophy winner went 4-of-5 for 59 yards and one touchdown in the first quarter against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Coming into the game, Montreal head coach Mike Sherman intended to get an extended look at backup quarterbacks Antonio Pipkin and, especially, Matt Shiltz to prepare for 2019.

"We want to give a chance to Matt," Sherman told Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette. "During the pre-season, it's very rough on me to have to evaluate our team in two weeks' time. I want to take advantage of this opportunity."

Saturday's abbreviated showing by Manziel was a vast improvement from where he started the season. He went 11-of-20 with 104 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions in a 50-11 loss.

Manziel's touchdown came on a 30-yard pass in which he had all day to throw and put the ball in a spot where Eugene Lewis could overpower Hamilton defensive back Courtney Stephen:

In the lead-up to Saturday night, Manziel sounded comfortable about his place in the CFL and wanting to return next season.

"It'll be nice knowing I have someone to come back to, having a routine and really having guys to work with, teammates to talk to," he told Zurkowsky. "It's going to be a good offseason—the first one I've had where I know I'm coming back to football next year. I want to be here."

This was a fitting and full-circle conclusion to what was a unique season for Manziel. He was able to go out on a high note against the team that originally signed him before Montreal acquired him via trade in July. The 25-year-old finished 2018 completing 64.2 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and seven interceptions in eight games.

Considering Manziel hadn't played a professional football game since Dec. 27, 2015, with the Cleveland Browns prior to joining the Alouettes, his stat line isn't nearly as important as just making it through the season without generating any negative headlines for off-field activities.

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Johnny Manziel was money against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. In this edition of B/R's College Football Flashback, we look at Manziel's record and statistics against Mississippi State.

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Montreal Alouettes quarterback Johnny Manziel finally threw his first touchdown pass of the 2018 CFL season Sunday in the Als' 34-29 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Molson Stadium in Montreal.

Manziel completed nine of his 16 passes for 138 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Week 16 contest. The former NFL QB added 45 rushing yards on five attempts in his fourth appearance.

Montreal dropped to a league-worst 3-11 with Sunday's defeat, while the Riders kept a firm grip on second place in the West Division by improving their record to 9-5.

Manziel returned to the Alouettes lineup last week after a monthlong absence. He missed two games because of a concussion and remained on the sideline after returning to full strength as head coach Mike Sherman opted to ride the hot hand of Antonio Pipkin for a couple of additional games.

The 25-year-old Texas A&M product has struggled to make an impact in the CFL. He entered Sunday's game with no touchdowns and five interceptions, including a four-pick game in his Week 8 debut.

While his play against the Roughriders represented only minor progress, finding the end zone for the first time is a noteworthy accomplishment after three years away from professional football.

The 47-yard connection with Adarius Bowman came on a trick play.

Manziel added a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Ernest Jackson as part of the Als' comeback bid, which came up one score short.

Nick Marshall scored two touchdowns for Saskatchewan, while Tre Mason and Kyran Moore tallied one TD apiece to help the visitors earn the narrow road triumph.

Looking ahead, the Alouettes return to action next Monday against the Calgary Stampeders in their penultimate home game of the campaign. It might represent a critical start for Manziel.

Montreal has a bye week following the matchup with Calgary before playing its final three games of the regular season. If the oft-discussed quarterback fails to impress, the struggling team may check out its other options at the position down the stretch as it begins looking toward 2019.

The Montreal Alouettes fell to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 31-14 at Investors Group Field on Friday night as Johnny Manziel made his first start since suffering a concussion in mid-August. 

Manziel, who drew the start over Antonio Pipkin, finished 18-of-25 passing for 212 yards and one interception and found it hard to find a rhythm in the face of constant pressure from Winnipeg's front. 

The Blue Bombers (6-7) racked up five sacks against an overwhelmed Alouettes offensive line, and Craig Roh picked up three as he relished the opportunity to send Manziel tumbling to the turf: 

With big gains through the air largely elusive, Montreal had to get creative in pursuit of a comeback after falling behind 21-6. 

In the third quarter, that meant running a jet sweep throwback to Manziel for a 22-yard pickup: 

Five players later, Pipkin came in and plunged into the end zone to help cut the deficit to single digits: 

However, the fireworks stopped there. 

Although Manziel and the Alouettes had a couple chances to knot the proceedings at 21, they couldn't generate the traction necessary to sustain a drive down the stretch. 

Now 3-10, the Alouettes will try to snap a two-game losing streak when they return to the field Sept. 30 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. 

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield led the team to its first win since 2016 on Thursday night with a triumph over the New York Jets and kicked off a frenzy from Browns fans in the process. 

On Friday, Darren Rovell of ESPN.com reported Cleveland's 21-17 comeback win led to a major uptick in ticket demand for the rest of the 2018 NFL season and the QB was the most talked about athlete on Twitter on Thursday night. Mayfield's jersey was also the top-seller from halftime until midnight, per a Fanatics email.

"I couldn't believe it," Amazing Tickets broker Mark Klang told Rovell. "It was like what it was the night Johnny [Manziel] got drafted. Except then, it went on for 30 minutes. This was still going two hours after the game ended. And not just for the next home game. For all games."

Mayfield replaced an injured Tyrod Taylor in the second quarter. He proceeded to complete 17 of his 23 throws for 201 yards and led the game-winning scoring drive in the final minutes. He also made a two-point conversion catch on a trick play in the third quarter.

The end result was the Browns' first win since Dec. 24, 2016, when they defeated the then-San Diego Chargers, 20-17. They entered 2018 with a 1-31 record over the previous two years.

"I've just been waiting for my moment," Mayfield told reporters after the victory.

Now Mayfield mania is taking over Cleveland.

The 23-year-old University of Oklahoma product showed the same dynamic playmaking skill that made him the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner with the Sooners, which led the Browns to select him with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft.

It wasn't clear how long he would have remained on the sideline if Taylor didn't get hurt. He illustrated Thursday night that he might be ready to take over the offense for good.

"He is special. He is really special," wide receiver Jarvis Landry said.

Based on the reaction of Browns' supporters Thursday night, they feel the same way.

Montreal Alouettes head coach Mike Sherman announced Monday that Johnny Manziel would serve as the team's starting quarterback Friday night against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, according to the CFL's official site.

Per that report, Antonio Pipkin had been operating as the team's starter since Manziel suffered a concussion in August, but after throwing four interceptions against the BC Lions, Pipkin has been demoted in favor of Manziel.

Manziel had been cleared to play for the past two weeks but remained in a backup role, which perplexed the former Texas A&M and NFL quarterback.

"If the club had faith in me, I feel like I would be the guy, I feel like I would've been the guy after I came back from the concussion," Manziel said last week, per the Associated Press. "That hasn't happened, so I need to continue to get out here. And it's the hardest part about missing practice, I need these reps to try to leave as little doubt as possible in my ability to play."

"I hope this organization, I hope the people here haven't lost faith in my ability to play, and I still get a chance to come back and get a chance to be in with the (starters) and play, because that's what I came up here to do and that's what I want to do," he continued.

Manziel's time has come once more for the 3-9 Alouettes, though he didn't exactly tear it up in his first two starts for the team, going 27-of-46 passes with 272 yards and four interceptions in two losses. While Pipkin struggled in his last outing, he was 2-2 overall as the starter.

It's been a revolving door at quarterback for Montreal this year, with six different players getting snaps at the position during the season. Vernon Adams, Drew Willy and Jeff Mathews are currently unavailable for the team while on the six-game injured list.

The hope for the team, after trading for Manziel, was that he would end that quarterback carousel. Now, he's getting a second chance to do so.

Johnny Manziel apparently wasn't happy with the Cleveland Browns from the moment he stepped off the plane. 

Talking to Kevin Hart on the web series Cold as Balls on the Laugh Out Loud Network, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner discussed his wake-up call:

"Once I landed and went to Berea, Ohio, for the first time, I was like, 'Can I go back to college?'" Manziel said. 

The Browns hold their training camp in Berea, a town just outside Cleveland.

He said he was optimistic about joining the Browns, but the first few days were difficult.

"I don't know anybody. I don't know where I'm at," Manziel explained. "It's cold! I don't like it."

After two dominant years at Texas A&M, his NFL career didn't go quite as well. He appeared in just 15 games, going 2-6 as a starter while producing only a 74.4 quarterback rating.

He was released from the team and has only recently worked his way back to professional football in the CFL. The 25-year-old also went through rehab for substance abuse twice. 

Manziel also said that the "monster of fun," as Hart put it, got the best of him in college. 

"I felt like I was the guy that had to party to play good."

While these issues appeared to derail his first attempt at an NFL career, he is still trying to work his way back.

Johnny Manziel is ready to return to action for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes but has yet to receive the go-ahead from doctors to get back on the field after suffering a concussion in the Aug. 11 defeat to the Ottawa Redblacks. 

"I feel like I'm just jumping through the necessary hoops as far as concussion protocol," Manziel said on his Barstool Sports podcast Comeback SZN (h/t TMZ Sports). "I wish it was progressing faster."

Manziel finished 16-of-26 for 168 yards in the loss to Ottawa. During a run in the third quarter, he absorbed a big hit at the goal line by Redblacks defensive back Jonathan Rose. Manziel stayed in for the remainder of the game.

The Alouettes placed him in the CFL's concussion protocol Aug. 15, and he missed a 40-24 defeat to the Edmonton Eskimos.

Montreal head coach Mike Sherman was optimistic Manziel would receive medical clearance to return to practice as early as Thursday.

"He's doing better every day," Sherman said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I texted him last night [and] he said he felt great. Every day, there's an improvement. Hopefully, tomorrow there's significant improvement and we go from there."

The Alouettes play the Toronto Argonauts at home Friday night.