Some of the storylines about Johnny Manziel’s rookie season in Cleveland are starting to surface, and Johnny Football was more “Johnny Joke” according to about 20 Browns teammate.
The missed treatment session, Kyle Shanahan’s resignation, and bitter teammates all had one thing common. Manziel.
The article from Jeremy Fowler and Patrick McManamon paints Manziel as the spoiled brat some thought he always was.
Now the Browns point to 2015 with a talented but misguided quarterback who must repair the wreckage done in his own locker room.
Interviews by ESPN.com with nearly 20 Browns sources, both on the record and on condition of anonymity, along with several NFL personnel sources reveal the Manziel-related problems run deep.
Those who spoke talked of a year-long pattern that showed a lack of commitment and preparation, a failure to be ready when given a chance in his first start against Cincinnati and a continued commitment to nightlife, which affected his preparation and work while in the team facility.
As one unnamed player told ESPN.com, Manziel’s rookie year was a “100 percent joke.”
“During the draft process, not one person interviewed by the team said he was going to grow up,” a source directly involved in the drafting of Manziel told ESPN.com. “You can’t blame Johnny. This is who he is. The team knew that.”
That Saturday morning when Browns officials struggled to find Manziel– came to a head with Cleveland brass finding Manziel “drunk off his ass.”
The official word was that Manziel was “late,” but players said they didn’t see Manziel until the Browns’ chartered airplane prepared to take off in the afternoon, that he was not present all morning. The team fined Manziel for missing treatment on his injured hamstring, then had him sit in the locker room during the season finale in Baltimore.
“Johnny’s his own worst enemy,” one source said.