Johnny Manziel blows his chance in CFL, so what’s next?

The Canadian Football League announced on Wednesday that Johnny Manziel would no longer play for their league. Where do his options stand now, or is his career completely done?

On Wednesday, the CFL announced that their biggest American star would no longer play in that league. Not only was Johnny Manziel cut from the Montreal Alouettes, but he was barred from signing with any other team in the league. That’s harsh, and not even the NFL does something like this.

https://twitter.com/CFL/status/1100834410901975040

It’s one of many incidents that has brought harm to Manziel’s football career. He flamed out in the NFL after an electric college football career that saw him win the Heisman Trophy. Something’s amiss here, since we don’t know exactly what Manziel did, but statements from the Alouettes tell us something happened. TSN provided a statement from Alouettes general manager Kavis Reed which read, in part:

"“We are disappointed by this turn of events. Johnny was provided a great deal of support by our organization, in collaboration with the CFL, but he has been unable to abide by the terms of his agreement. We worked with the league and presented alternatives to Johnny, who was unwilling to proceed.”"

Manziel never seemed to fit in the CFL, whether that’s on the field or off of it. Manziel played in eight games, threw for five touchdowns with seven interceptions, and averaged less than eight yards per attempt. Against much lesser competition than he faced in the NCAA or in the NFL, Manziel still was not good.

When looking at the statement from Reed, it seems like Manziel was presented options to make things work, but was unwilling to take those steps, thus why he is no longer allowed to play football in Canada.

Now, what are his options if he wants to continue his football career? He sent a tweet saying that his next move is to come back to the United States to try to restart his professional career:

Obviously, with his personal conduct history and lack of production on the field, the NFL is not an option for Johnny Football, but in 2019 he has a surprising amount of options.

A team in the AAF might hope that Manziel is just what they need to really get people excited about their league. Viewership is going up with their games on the NFL Network, and a true star could give the league some sustainability. Sure, Manziel isn’t a star on the field, but he’s more of a household name than Garrett Gilbert and Logan Woodside. He gives more people a reason to watch by curiosity alone.

Then, there’s the league many have tied to Manziel since it was announced, Vince McMahon’s XFL. The XFL doesn’t take the field until next season, but it’s likely the former Heisman Trophy winner could take a year off from football and still be okay. Manziel could commit to the XFL now and get that league in the headlines, which McMahon is looking for already.

There’s one major issue with Manziel playing in the XFL. McMahon himself said he doesn’t want any player who has a criminal record playing in his league. He said during a Q&A that he will evaluate players based on the quality of human being they are. That might take Manziel off the list immediately. However, we have seen McMahon give some of his workers in the WWE second chances after their own run-ins with the law.

Manziel is running out of options when it comes to football. This latest development surely sounds like he’s getting close to his last chance. He’s been his own worst enemy throughout his career, and this time is no different.