According to a former teammate, Johnny Manziel is readying himself for an NFL comeback.
Los Angeles Chargers receiver Travis Benjamin, who was a teammate of Manziel during the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, was on the NFL Network’s Up to the Minute on Thursday. He indicated that Manziel is looking to get back into the NFL.
“I saw Johnny about a month ago through this PT guy we go to in San Diego and he’s looking good,” Benjamin said. “He says he’s ready to come back and hopefully he’ll get a shot at a team and he’ll go in, continue to humble himself and play smart and play good.”
He added that any team signing Manziel is “going to have a guy that comes in ready to prove himself; Ready to get his second chance at what he does best.”
Manziel is only 24. From that respect, he certainly has time. Additionally, the NFL does not lack for teams that need help at the quarterback position.
Unfortunately, Manziel has some rather large obstacles that he’d need to overcome.
One, teams don’t like distractions. Manziel would bring a lot of attention. Teams may be willing to overlook that for a quality starting quarterback. But realistically, Manziel’s best chance at returning to the NFL would involve him winning a battle for a backup position.
That leads us to problem No. 2. Manziel simply wasn’t that good of a quarterback when he was in the NFL. In 14 games, he has a mediocre 57 percent completion mark, a well below average passer rating (79.4) and five interceptions against only seven touchdowns.
Last but certainly not least, Manziel needs to prove that his off-field issues are behind him. Recent signs indicate that he’s living a clean life, but Manziel’s issues are hard to forget. This wasn’t simply a matter of a young man occasionally staying out too late and having a few too many drinks. Manziel’s problems were constant.
So, Manziel may be looking to return to the NFL. But he has his work cut out for him.