While Johnny Manziel’s life has seemingly spiraled out of control over the course of the last month or so, it wasn’t that long ago that Manziel looked like he was going to end up being the face of the Browns’ franchise. As of the end of this past September, Manziel was playing relatively well for the team in place of the injured Josh McCown, and it appeared as though he was going to be the starting quarterback for the team for years to come. So what happened between that time and now?
The MMQB just took a deep dive into Manziel’s personal and professional life and spoke with a bunch of his former Browns teammates, friends, and other associates. And they found that, while Manziel did take steps to get his life together last year, things started unraveling for him last fall after a game against the Titans. He performed well during the game—he threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns—but Cleveland coach Mike Pettine decided to reinsert McCown back into the lineup the following week. That reportedly led to Manziel reverting back to his old ways, and by the end of the season, Manziel was back to partying at an alarming rate, according to the MMQB report. He was partying so much that he apparently made a habit out of sleeping off hangovers when he showed up for work:
But the Tennessee game would prove to be one of the few highlights of Manziel’s Cleveland tenure. When reinserted as the starter for an injured McCown later in the year, Manziel was ineffective save for the occasional improvisational play.
The whole MMQB piece is worth a read, because it shows how there seems to be a pattern in Manziel’s life with regards to the way he behaves, especially when things don't go his way. It also shows that he still has more than enough people in his corner to turn things around, if he chooses to do it. You can check out the story here.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via The MMQB]
