Former Cleveland Browns first round pick Johnny Manziel will play football in the United States once again. The 26-year-old quarterback, who last played in CFL with Montreal Alouettes, has signed a deal with Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football.
AAF announced over the weekend that Manziel signed with the league and that the San Antonio Commanders, who had the opportunity to claim him due to connections with Texas A&M, relinquished his rights. Express stepped in and claimed him off waivers.
“We are pleased to welcome Johnny Manziel to Alliance of American Football, which we’ve always described as a league of opportunity for talented players to launch or revitalize their pro football careers,” – said league co-founder Bill Polian in a statement. “We completed extensive background work to determine whether it would be appropriate for Johnny to play this season, and after consulting with many people familiar with his situation, we concluded that it would be good for him to resume his pro football career here at The Alliance.”
Johnny Manziel was taken 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns but only managed to play 14 games in two seasons before being released by the organization. Besides his poor performances he also struggled with off-the-field issues, so neither NFL team was willing to give him a job.
Due to this, Manziel sat out almost three years before signing with Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Canadian Football League. He was then traded to Montreal Alouettes, where he played eight games and finishing the 2018 season with 1,290 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Alouettes decided to release him in February.
