Johnny Manziel Ditching Money Sign: Is He Moving Past The Johnny Football Phase?
When football fans see Johnny Manziel take the field next season, one of the things that will be different is the young quarterback won’t be delivering his signature money sign gesture.
According to the New York Daily News, Manziel told reporters that he’s looking to change his image. One of those things is ditching the popular money sign gesture he made after a successful play.
“The money sign will not be back. I will not be making it out there.”
Johnny Manziel admits that he got ahead of himself in his rookie NFL season, and the Johnny Football image that was created in his college years was more than he could handle in the professional world.
“I think at times Johnny Football probably took over me a little bit and I bought into that. I didn’t do my best to hush things down, push down the hype. At times I welcomed it with immaturity and just accepted that a little bit — and that’s my fault.”
Johnny Manziel officially retired the money sign today. Goodbye, Johnny Manziel money sign. Goodbye. http://t.co/MFK2PGSa0Y
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) June 18, 2015
Manziel has completed 10 weeks in a Pennsylvania-based rehab facility during the offseason, but during the press conference, he kept quiet on what he has gone through since starting the process. Manziel told reporters that he’s aware his NFL rookie year was “a disaster,” and he knows the only person he can blame is himself.
“At the end of the day, everything that happened last year is not on anybody else but myself. I guess I wasn’t prepared to handle the type of spotlight that I got, and all the hype that came with it.”
Johnny Manziel will remain with the Cleveland Browns for the 2015 NFL season, but he’s not going to be the starter. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Josh McCown will be the team’s starting quarterback.
It’s uncertain how often Manziel will be on the field during the regular season, if even at all. But he did note that the offseason has really helped him with turning things around.
“I think I’ve done a good job throughout this offseason of really trying to get back to my roots and who I really am as a person.”
At a recent practice, ESPN reported that while McCown succeeded, Johnny Manziel was having trouble holding onto the ball after the snap from the center. Head coach Mike Pettine noted that the snaps might not have been that great, but Manziel has the opportunity to turn himself around before the season starts.
“Time will tell. Training camp is going to be real important for him, but I think he’s in a good place and headed that way.”
With Johnny Manziel retiring the money sign and changing things up, do you think his career in Cleveland will improve?
[Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images]
