Johnny Manziel has NFL-caliber talent and can become a top-notch passer in this league. Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine knows this, but he also knows the young man’s off-field issues could easily derail his career before it ever has a chance to take off.
Speaking with media on Thursday, Pettine announced Manziel would miss Sunday’s game because of a concussion. He also addressed the fact that Manziel was once again caught on tape (video here) consuming an alcoholic beverage called Four Loko, which contains 12 percent alcohol by volume and said he spoke with the quarterback about it.
“Here is a guy that has an NFL skill set,” Pettine said, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “He’s very talented. If you spend some time with him, he’s a likable guy. You root for him. But there are problems there that we’ll talk as we’re headed to the offseason about getting addressed. …because I don’t think you can be as effective as you can be as a player if things aren’t right off the field, and he’s a good example of that.
Pettine also made his strongest statement of support to date regarding his view of Manziel as a potential franchise passer but noted it’s hard to have a consistent career when off-field concerns constantly rise up.
“I think he’s shown on the field that he can [be the quarterback of the future], but we always talk in terms of long-term, sustained success. And that’s what you want to strive for, and if things aren’t right off the field, that’s very difficult to have that level of consistency, especially when you’re in a position of leadership.”
Most people who watched Manziel play this year would likely agree that he has plenty of potential to become a good, and potentially great, NFL quarterback. He has the ability to make big plays when things break down and is learning to become more consistent when engineering plays as they are designed to be run.
For the season, Manziel has completed 57.8 percent of his passes for 1,500 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He also added another 230 yards on the ground and certainly grew as a quarterback throughout the year.
It certainly seems like the Browns are still interested in Manziel as a potential quarterback of the future. However, at this point there must be some doubt lingering, due to his continued acts of immaturity off the field.