Johnny Manziel: Cleveland Browns Should Sit Him In 2014

Johnny Manziel has already taken the NFL by storm despite the fact that he hasn’t played a single down on the field yet for the Cleveland Browns. No other single player has received near the amount of media attention this offseason. You would probably have to go back to the Tim Tebow media blitz to find a player with this much media hype surrounding them. A couple of months ago in the build up to the NFL draft I actually wrote that I thought “Johnny Football” was worth the risk for teams that needed a quarterback in the draft. I still believe what I wrote in that piece, but based on what I’ve seen since the Browns drafted Manziel with the 22nd pick in the NFL, I believe it would be best for both Manziel and the Browns for Johnny Football/Money Manziel to ride the pine in 2014.

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Normally, the number one reason I would advocate for a rookie QB to essentially “redshirt” their rookie season is because I don’t think they are ready for the NFL game. That’s not the case for Manziel. I actually think that with some smart play calling that Manziel could have a productive rookie season in the NFL. My fear is that Manziel having a good rookie season could be the absolute worst thing for his long term success in the NFL. Let me explain….

Johnny Manziel is a media sensation well beyond that of most successful NFL players despite the fact that he hasn’t taken the field in the NFL yet and is just 21 years old. This media attention is partly due to the success Manziel had at Texas A&M, but it has blown up to Tim Tebow or Brett Favre type levels due to his behavior off the field. Manziel has quickly become one of TMZ’s top targets. He’s more than an athlete, he’s a true celebrity. That kind of celebrity has ruined many a promising career in and out of the NFL.

History is littered with first round draft pick quarterbacks that couldn’t live up to the pressure to carry their franchise on their very young and very inexperienced shoulders. History is also littered with young adults who’s lives spiraled out of control when the media and pop culture began obsessing over their every more (i.e. Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, etc.). Manziel has now put himself in a position where he faces the pressures of both of those worlds. Either one would be a lot for the most well adjusted 21-year-old to handle, both is a recipe for disaster.

If Manziel has success…he will have no reason to believe he needs to change.

That is why the Cleveland Browns need to do the smart thing and sit Johnny Manziel down, not just for a token game or two to start the season, but for the entire 2014 season. They need to take Johnny Football/Money Manziel out of the media spotlight. They need to demand that he prove himself as a professional and a teammate first and then slowly earn his way onto the field and back into the bright lights of the NFL. If Manziel starts from day one in his rookie season and has success (like he always has up to this point) despite his “party boy” antics he will have no reason to believe he needs to change his ways.

The closest parallel that I can draw to this potential situation is Michael Vick with the Atlanta Falcons. Vick coasted along on his freakish athletic abilities for years. It wasn’t until he went to prison that he reportedly changed his ways and by the time he worked his way back he had wasted the prime years of his career.

The need for the Browns to handle Manziel carefully are all the more important given the recent unraveling of their young star receiver Josh Gordon. Gordon is likely facing a year long suspension and at this point his NFL future is definitely in question. The concerns about Gordon being able to ever get his life back in order appear well founded. If Cleveland were to lose two young stars with so much potential in such a short period of time it would be devastating for their long term success moving forward.

In order to be successful in the NFL a player has to be talented, that is obvious, but the NFL’s past is full of incredibly talented players that either lacked the mental strength or the work ethic to take advantage of that talent. A quote from the Texans JJ Watt surfaced on Twitter this week and I think it applies to this idea perfectly.

Watt’s outlook is what every fan, teammate, coach, and GM wants in a player. The average NFL career is so incredibly short that a player has to do everything in their power to make it happen. The last thing you want is a player that seems to be caught up in the tabloid Hollywood lifestyle. Unfortunately, it appears that Manziel could be headed down that path. In less than two months since being drafted “Johnny Football” has already graced the media with multiple party pictures.

It started with him hitting Las Vegas with Rob Gronkowski:

I mean who could be a better NFL role model than Gronk, right?

Then there was the famous drinking champagne on a giant swan pic:

If Vegas with Gronk and drinking champagne on a giant inflatable bird weren’t enough to sway you, this last one should do the trick:

Justin. Bieber.

Do I really need to say anything else?

I didn’t even include the recent infamous shot of him in a bathroom rolling up a dollar bill. That pic has lead most to assume the rolled bill was going to be used to snort drugs. Obviously, if that’s the case then Manziel is really headed down the wrong path and the Browns need to take immediate action, but even if the picture is misleading and Manziel hasn’t been doing drugs, the Hollywood party lifestyle that these other pictures detail is troubling enough on their own.

The Cleveland Browns drafted Johnny Manziel to lead their football team on the football field for the next decade, not to get their name on TMZ and Entertainment Tonight. That is why they need to do whatever they can to get Manziel out of the limelight, away from the parties, and focused on football. I’m hoping that they will resist the media pressure to play him right away and do what’s in the long term best interest of both their team and Manziel himself. If they can, I believe he has the talent and leadership to lead the Browns for years to come. If they can’t it may not be long until Manziel finds himself sitting next to fellow media darling Tim Tebow as an analyst, or worse, following Josh Gordon’s destructive path to somewhere much darker.