Karlos Dansby spent the last two seasons watching Johnny Manziel’s demise in Cleveland. If you ask the former Browns linebacker, he’s just amazed the polarizing quarterback made it out alive.
Dansby, now a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, appeared Tuesday on “The Jim Rome Show,” where he shed light on the incredible pressure Manziel dealt with during their time together in Cleveland.
“I probably would have committed suicide. Ain’t no telling what would have took place,” Dansby said, per JimRome.com. “I couldn’t handle none of it. Nobody in that building could handle any of that pressure that man was under.
“Because it’s specifically for him, and that’s how God designed it. That’s his pressure, only he can handle that. You can only put so much on you that only you can handle. (God’s) not going to give you more than you handle, so he can handle it, I couldn’t handle it, and I told him that to his face. I couldn’t handle what you’re going through right now, I can’t. I can’t live that for you.”
Dansby’s stance is interesting, and it speaks to both his faith and his observations from Manziel’s tumultuous two-year tenure with the Browns. We’ve all been exposed to the negative side of Manziel, who currently is a free agent making headlines daily on websites like TMZ, but the Browns QB has been under a microscope since entering the league — not that any of that should be used as an excuse for Johnny Football’s frequent screwball behavior.
“It was just tough to really watch him go through that, but I had to step back and allow him to go through that, because it’s going to propel him towards his destiny, whatever that may be,” Dansby said, per JimRome.com. “He’s going to find it, you know what I’m saying. It’s just going to take some time.
“He had to go through this to get to where he needs to be.”
Manziel has had and will have a hard time finding NFL employment so long as he sticks to his hard-partying ways. But at least he has some former teammates, like Dansby, who are willing to be there for support if Manziel ever gets his head on straight.
“Whatever happens, whatever takes place, if he needs somebody, he can always holler,” Dansby said. “I got his back.”
The onus is on Manziel to turn his career — and life — around before it’s too late.
Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images
