Johnny Manziel ‘very much wants’ to play in the CFL

With no NFL opportunities coming, Johnny Manziel is willing to give the CFL a shot.

Back in July, Johnny Manziel suggested he was talking to NFL teams about a possible return. But nothing came to fruition all the way through camps and the preseason, so “Johnny Football” had a workout with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL last week.

Things apparently did no go very well during the workout, as Manziel was reportedly out of football shape and presented “too many red flags.” But Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk contradicted part of that TSN report, citing a source that suggested the Tiger-Cats remain interested in Manziel and could still sign him. Team vice president (and also head coach up until recently) Kent Austin said on Wednesday the team is not interested in signing Manziel “right now.”

From an interest standpoint, Manziel seems to be a little more enthused about the Tiger-Cats than Austin was about him. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Manziel is eager to play in the CFL, and is continuing to discuss a possible contract with Hamilton.

“This is something he very much wants,” said the source, who added that a deal could take some time.

With the promotion of June Jones from short-lived assistant to head coach and an ill-conceived attempt to hire Art Briles, the Tiger-Cats seem to want in inject some offensive excitement if they’re going to be a bad team. The Briles-related backlash should go away pretty soon, which would then open the door to bring Manziel in quickly and relatively under the radar.

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The path from the CFL to being a well-established player in the NFL is not necessary well-worn. But there have been some notable success stories, like Cameron Wake, Warren Moon, Jeff Garcia and Doug Flutie. Manziel could reignite his football skill and rehab his image in Canada, but time will tell if that opportunity comes.