Johnny Manziel is dampening the speculation surrounding a potential NFL comeback.
The former Browns quarterback, whose NFL career lasted for two seasons before ending in 2016, addressed recent fan conjecture on Tuesday after a photo showed him wearing a Dolphins hat.
@JManziel2 repping the dolphins could there be a return👀👀 pic.twitter.com/BUn3mLgrMQ
— gav (@gavUtdd) January 30, 2024
Responding to a fan’s comment suggesting a return to football, the 31-year-old Manziel firmly stated, “Absolutely not, my time for football has come and gone. I just love Tua and Mike McDaniel so I’m always going to show support. I’m a fan of people in the sport of football, not teams…” Manziel was referring to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and head coach Mike McDaniel, whose team reached the playoffs last month but was eliminated by the Chiefs in the wild-card round.
Manziel rose to national prominence in 2012 when he became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy following a stellar season at Texas A&M. However, his NFL journey, which began when he was selected 22nd overall by the Browns in the 2014 NFL Draft, was fraught with challenges as he grappled with substance abuse issues and off-field controversies.
Reflecting on his time with the Browns in the 2023 Netflix documentary “Johnny Football,” Manziel revealed, “[It] didn’t take me very long to be in Cleveland to find out that I wasn’t gonna be happy there. I had every single thing that I could’ve ever wanted. You have money, you have fame, you’re a first-round draft pick battling for a starting quarterback position, and when I got everything that I wanted, I think I was the most empty that I’ve ever felt inside.”
Manziel has openly discussed his struggles with alcohol and his bipolar diagnosis in a 2018 interview with “Good Morning America.” Since his departure from the NFL, he has competed in the CFL and the now-defunct Alliance of American Football league. His most recent football venture was in the Fan Controlled Football League.
While an NFL comeback seemed improbable, Manziel appears to have relinquished any aspirations of returning to the field and is content to simply enjoy the game as a fan.
