Barring a change of heart by Johnny Manziel and his agent, it appears the quarterback’s chances of playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are dwindling, and fast. The January 31 deadline imposed by Manziel’s agent at the start of the year came and went without any real progress, and now the Tiger-Cats are looking ahead to free agency.
“While the discussions with Johnny Manziel and his representative have been very cordial and informative, there is nothing imminent and nothing to report,” the Ticats said in a statement, per Chris O’Leary the CFL website. “We will continue to do our due diligence and will have no further public comment on the matter as we move forward.”
Free agency in the Canadian Football League opens up in less than two weeks.
The Tiger-Cats already have Jeremiah Masoli on their roster, and if Manziel remains out of the picture it’s likely he’ll be the starting quarterback heading into training camp, reports O’Leary. O’Leary also notes that, “every contract signed, every brick laid toward building a team that’ll want to improve on the strong finish it had to last season, is money out of a contract offer to Manziel, who, let’s not forget was seeking Zach Collaros-like money to come to Hamilton in the first place.”
Manziel has been extremely active on social media of late, promoting his “Comeback$ZN” merchandise and posting updates about his training regimen. He clearly wants to play football this year and has made it clear he will play, somehow.
However, based on the tenor of the Tiger-Cats right now, he better get on board the train before it leaves the station, if he’s going to play ball for Hamilton.