Johnny Football can’t always get what he wants.
Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones completely shut down the idea of signing Johnny Manziel during an interview Friday on CBS Sports’ “Tiki and Tierney” show. This could pose a problem for the beleaguered free-agent quarterback, who recently said during a brief exchange with TMZ Sports outside of a Hollywood club that he hoped to someday play for America’s Team.
“There’s no chance,” Jones said of the possibility of signing Manziel, who was released by the Cleveland Browns back in March. “Obviously Johnny needs to get his hands around his life. He needs to do the things that make him a good person off the field, I think, before he can ever have any chance of being successful in our league.”
Manziel, who won a Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M, has been on a downward spiral ever since the Browns drafted him in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. There have been too many instances of questionable behavior to name, and it doesn’t sound like things are going to get better anytime soon. The 23-year-old still is spotted out partying frequently despite being out of work.
“He knows he’s hit rock bottom and he’s giving himself a year to get sober and get ready for football. He wants to play again,” a source recently told Page Six of the New York Post. “He really wants to turn things around and make people proud of him again. It’s not going to end this way. He really wants to make that effort. He knows what he’s gifted with … The spotlight got to him.”
Manziel is young and has talent — though some question whether he’d be good enough to be a starting NFL quarterback even if his head was on straight — so perhaps he’ll someday return to the gridiron. A lot needs to change for that to happen, though. And it doesn’t seem like the Cowboys will be the ones to roll the dice, at least for the time being, despite their need for a backup quarterback behind Tony Romo.
“When (Manziel) is able to have his hands around some of his issues that he has off the field, then it usually translates into a success for him on the field,” Jones said Friday. “But I hope he is able to get his hands around his life, and at some point if he does, I’m sure he’ll get another chance. But at the moment, it certainly won’t be in Dallas.”
Sorry, Johnny. But you brought this upon yourself.
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
