The NFL has decided not to punish Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel for his role in October episode.
It’s a good day to be Johnny Football.
Just hours after being announced as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, the NFL declared they would not be disciplining Manziel for an October roadside incident involving the QB and his girlfriend Colleen Crowley.
NFL statement on Johnny Manziel: pic.twitter.com/8d8q26Lo57
— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) November 17, 2015
Manziel was seen cutting across multiple lanes of multiple lanes of highway traffic west of Cleveland last month, and several eyewitnesses claimed he physically restrained Crowley from exiting the vehicle while it was moving. Crowley also originally claimed Manziel was violent with her within the car and pushed her head against the glass of the window, but she later decided not to press charges.
The news is notable considering Manziel’s widely-publicized history of off-the-field controversies, which culminated in the 2014 draft pick entering rehab last offseason. By most accounts, Manziel was a changed man after completing his treatment and showed marked improvement throughout Browns training camp before eventually losing out to Josh McCown for the starting gig.
Police indicated they smelled alcohol on Manziel’s breath when they pulled the car over, and both Manziel and Crowley admitted they had been drinking earlier in the day. No sobriety field test was given and the couple were allowed to head home because it was determined Manziel had not been driving inebriated.
Manziel has started the last two games for the Browns in relief of an injured McCown, and while Cleveland has lost both decisions, most would agree Johnny Football has played admirably throughout. He threw for 168 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions against then-undefeated Cincinnati on the road, and had arguably his best game as a pro last week against Pittsburgh, posting a final quarterback rating of 95.8 along with 389 yards of total offense.
Browns coach Mike Pettine said in a statement Tuesday that Manziel “deserves this opportunity” to prove himself a full-time starter after his recent showings. Manziel, for his part, sounds ready to embrace the challenge and has claimed to put his past indiscretions behind him already.
“I let (Pettine) know that I’m not going to do anything that’s going to be a distraction to this team or be an embarrassment to the organization,” Manziel said.
“I’m going to come back and gear up for these last set of games that we have and come in fresh-minded, ready to go and excited to be back on the football field. So I don’t think they’re going to have to worry about me this week.”
We’ve heard this story before from the volatile young signal-caller out of Texas A&M. Let’s see if this time Manziel can put his money where his mouth is.