The last time we saw Johnny Manziel play pro football, he was doing things like this:
He showed some talent in college obviously, he won the Heisman trophy. But he never showed the type of skillset that would forecast success at the NFL level.
The time has apparently come for the Manziel show to head north of the border…that is, if they can get the paperwork right.
The CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats are expressing interest in Manziel, but according to Manziel’s agent, there seems to be a few snags.
Via TMZ:
Johnny wants to let Hamilton fans know where things stand and that he has been working hard in preparation for his comeback,” Johnny’s agent Erik Burkhardt said in a statement.
Burkhardt says Johnny is hopeful they can work out a “fair deal” with the Canadian Football League team — and by that he means a contract “on par with what Hamilton has paid their QB in recent years, despite not having much on-field success.”
Johnny likes the execs in the Hamilton front office — and seems excited to play for coach June Jones … but Burkhardt says the clock is ticking.
“If we cannot reach a deal with Hamilton by this date [Jan. 31], we will turn our focus to several other professional options readily available to us.”
Manziel is said to have been working out and partying less than his NFL & college days, but he’s been out of the headlines for some time now, so no one really knows how close to true football shape he is.
I, for one, would be interested to see how he’d play in the CFL, where his college-like QB style would be more useful.
However, Manziel struggled with substance abuse and horrible play in the past, so the Tiger-Cats really have all the leverage. That makes his “demands” even more puzzling.
Flip the page to see the full report, via NFL insider Ian Rapoport: