Johnny Manziel didn’t do anything that countless others did this Memorial Day weekend as he took time away from his job with the Cleveland Browns and went out of town to Las Vegas to enjoy some nice weather, nice company, a few adult beverages and a UFC event. However, the second of the Browns’ first round picks in the 2014 NFL Draft was chastised for being a “celebrity quarterback” and shirking his responsibilities with the Browns.
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It was easy to criticize Manziel for being in the spotlight during his career with the Texas A&M Aggies that was at time overshadowed by what “Johnny Football” did outside of the football field rather than the electrifying player he was for the past two seasons in College Station, including winning the 2012 Heisman Trophy.
However, if you think Manziel is the only other NFL player to get away for the weekend in the middle of the offseason, you’re kidding yourselves. When did it become so abhorrent for a player in the offseason to go away for the weekend in his offseason?
Manziel posted this picture to his Instagram account to show his Ipad which is loaded with the Browns playbook to show that it is possible to get some work in during a vacation when the rest of the NFL is vacationing as well.
Do you think Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees or Tom Brady weren’t taking a timeout from digesting the playbook and instead were grilling out, spending time with friends and family and traveling to a nice destination this weekend? Of course they did.
This wasn’t during the team’s bye week in the middle of the season when it would be somewhat reasonable to question this, but let’s be real here, taking a weekend trip to Vegas over Memorial Day weekend is not going to hinder him winning the starting quarterback job for the Browns.
He will have plenty of time to do that over the next three months, but as is the case with Manziel, every little move he makes is scrutinized to the point of exhaustion.