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Johnny Manziel Continues To Show His Immaturity, Why He Failed In NFL
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- Johnny Manziel Continues To Show His Immaturity, Why He Failed In NFL
Johnny Manziel remains one of the most notable busts in modern NFL Draft history.
The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback was a first round NFL Draft pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2014. By the end of the 2015 NFL season, Manziel was out of the league. Within a few years of his NFL release, he was out of football for good.
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In a resurfaced clip from Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco's "Nightcap" podcast , Manziel declared that he will always hate the city of Cleveland .
"I sit here today and I go back on forth, am I going to let Cleveland off the hook, let it go or am I going to sit here with hate and animosity in my heart for the rest of my life," Manziel admitted. "I finally sit here today, and I'm like, [Expletive] it, I think I'm gonna be (upset) at them and hate them forever. It is what it is man, no love for the Browns."
Nov 30, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Former Texas A&M and Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel looks on prior to the game against the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns defeated the Aggies 17-7 at Kyle Field.
Unsurprisingly, not everyone in Cleveland took it well.
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"What did anyone do to you, except root for you to win," Tony Rizzo said on his Cleveland radio show.
Manziel did not take kindly to the comments.
"Rizz, you stupid (expletive). These comments were made in October of last year but of course you bored (expletives) in the Cleveland media have nothing to speak about because your quarterback stopped (expletive) massage therapists and you can only speak about losing so much to all of the people that listen to this trash (expletive) show. My tenure in Cleveland was doomed by a lot more people than just (me). I've taken plenty of responsibility for my failures in that building and in that city. By the way have you spoke to or about or 6th pick in the draft that year Justin Gilbert lately? Or what about our all world coach that was hired Mike Pettine? Tom Brady couldn't have won with our roster from 2015. Just move on, (expletive) off and leave me out of this (expletive)," he said.
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Manziel isn't wrong, necessarily, but it's an immature way to go about it
The comment from Manziel is not the kind of comment that a solid NFL quarterback and leader of a locker room would make.
Manziel is right on some counts - he was not set up to win in Cleveland. The system around him was bad.
But, at the same time, Manziel did not set himself up to win. And, based on his expletive-filled rant against a Cleveland radio host, he still doesn't have the maturity needed to succeed at the top level.
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It's a shame, because Manziel possessed a lot of talent, and probably could have lasted for a while in the NFL if he had the right head on his shoulders.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Jul 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
