Could we see Johnny Manziel in the CFL?

The Johnny Manziel project in Cleveland didn’t exactly go to plan, did it? In fact, “Johnny Football” is now back at Texas A&M as a student after he failed to find a new franchise before the 2016 NFL season got underway. With that in mind, we were wondering: could Manziel eventually feature in the Canadian Football League? To be completely honest, it may sound bizarre but it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

On paper, Manziel looks like he would be a good fit in the CFL but it is difficult to imagine the former Brown earning a starting role. While he is obviously very talented, his glaring issues away from the football field are far too obvious. At the moment, Manziel’s baggage is too much to handle…

During his brief stint with the Browns, Manziel attracted plenty of negative media attention and most Canadian franchises would be hesitant to work with the former Aggies star. At college level, Manziel was a phenomenal talent but he has failed to adapt to life as a professional football player.

In two years at Texas A&M, “Johnny Football” completed 593 of his 863 pass attempts – racking up 7,820 yards, 63 touchdowns and just 22 interceptions. But one of Manziel’s greatest weapons is his ability to run outside the pocket. In fact, he rushed 345 times during his college career, recording 2,169 yards at an average of 6.3 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, he scored 30 touchdowns – an impressive statistic to say the least. If Manziel could control his off-field demons and negative influences, he still possesses the skillset to blossom into an exceptional quarterback.

Unfortunately, his party-first lifestyle is getting in the way of his ability to progress and advance as a true professional and Manziel must focus on completely changing his mind-set if he is to be given another opportunity to prove his worth. An NFL career might be a little far-fetched right now but a Canadian team could offer him one final chance to make it at the top level.

As of September 23^rd, the Cleveland Browns are struggling at the bottom of the AFC North and they look destined to miss out on the playoffs. However, they are still much better off without Manziel – and who knows, Hue Jackson could transform the Browns into genuine contenders in the near future.

Not a misprint: Hue Jackson says Browns will win a championship https://t.co/MoziGaAzG0

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 14, 2016

At the time of writing, they are 80/1 to win the division in Bet365’s NFL odds but it would be foolish to expect their ‘Moneyball’ strategy to reap immediate rewards. Watch this space: with smart drafting, they could be the next force in American Football.

The Canadian Football League is improving on a yearly basis and Manziel would certainly help to put this professional division on the map. But until the interested CFL franchises see a clear improvement in his attitude, a move to Canada will be on hold.

And if truth be told, it might be quite a while before we see Manziel leading one of the CFL’s elite sides to the Grey Cup – if at all…