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Johnny Manziel Might Not Be Done In The NFL, But Where Does He Go From Here?

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 12:15 PST, Dec 6, 2015

Johnny Manziel and the Cleveland Browns are the NFL equivalent of a two-train, head-on collision. It’s hard to objectively gauge the damage when both parties are so messed up. Manziel has hardly featured this year, and the Browns are 2-10. Yet when he has featured, Johnny hasn’t revealed himself to be the great “Johnny Football.”

Perhaps the Johnny Manziel situation is a case where a chance of scenery can do the 23-year-old some good. We’ll likely find out sooner rather than later as all signs point to this being Manziel’s very last season with the Cleveland Browns. Beyond that, God only knows. People seem to be pretty split on Johnny Manziel and his future.

One amazing bit of speculation is that Johnny Manziel will fly down to Dallas to replace Tony Romo. Given Romo’s disastrous injury situation — And the Cowboys’ horrible backup quarterbacks — it makes sense that fans and pundits would start looking around for “new blood.” However, it’s questionable whether Manziel could be of much use to Dallas. At the same time, it’s questionable whether the stagnant Dallas Cowboys franchise could give much to Johnny either.

This is all about hype and excitement. That’s the same attitude that caused the Cleveland Browns to waste their first round pick on Manziel. Dallas fans should hope the franchise looks elsewhere for a quarterback.

If Chip Kelly somehow survives this season with his job as Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach/General Manager intact, he may go for Manziel. He seems to be very much in love with trying to make his college-based system work in the NFL. He couldn’t get Mariota, but maybe he can do something with Manziel, someone who seemed to be at his best in a college-type system.

Of course, this is assuming Kelly is around next season; for now, the talk is that he likely will be. As for bringing in Johnny, it’s possible that the only way it would happen is if the Eagles (who do need to strengthen their QB position) couldn’t do better than Manziel. Johnny could certainly do worse than the Eagles.

Could Johnny Manziel end up with the rival Cincinnati Bengals? Anyone who laughs clearly is too young to remember what went down when the Green Bay Packers’ beloved Brett Favre wound up as a Minnesota Viking player. In the case of Johnny Manziel, it would be just another way of the Bengals potentially sticking it to the Browns.

First of all, the Cincinnati Bengals don’t need a starting quarterback. That would actually be an ideal situation for Johnny Manziel: A team not on the lookout for a savior at quarterback. He could slot in as a backup and spend the entire season learning the game. If Manziel understands that he’s going to be a 3rd-string QB with a small salary and a lot of humble pie to eat, it might be the wake-up call he needs.

Also, I think Andy Dalton is an outstanding professional quarterback, and the Cincinnati Bengals have a great offensive line from whom Johnny could learn a great deal.

If Johnny Manziel experienced something of a turnaround after a couple of seasons with the Bengals, it would certainly be one more thing for Cincinnati fans to lord over the hapless Cleveland crowd.

Some think that when it comes to Johnny Manziel, he will be tumbled out of the NFL completely. I don’t know. I mean if there’s room for “Tebow Time” and Mark “Butt Fumble” Sanchez, I suppose we can dare to be optimistic enough to say he can end up elsewhere within the NFL.

If he does find a job, it will probably be under circumstances where he understands that this is his last chance. His VERY last chance to make something of his professional career. If that reality doesn’t click for Johnny Manziel, he’ll likely be a forgotten memory within a few seasons, only ever occasionally referenced as blown potential.

Do you think Johnny Manziel will find a home in the NFL next season or will he be gone for good after this season wraps up? Share your thoughts below.

[Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images]

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