Johnny Finger: Manziel Salutes Redskins Sideline

Johnny Manziel was all about rubbing thumbs and index fingers together in college. In the pros, he has taken to gestures involving the middle finger.

Johnny Football flipped the Redskins bench the bird in the third quarter of the Cleveland-Washington preseason game on Monday night. The rude sign language followed an incomplete pass thrown by the rookie quarterback–and a lot of heckling apparently thrown at him from the home team’s sidelines. Although the referees missed Manziel’s silent rendition of “Hail to the Redskins,” the NFL surely saw it and will make him pay for his performance.

The league grabbed a quarter-million from the late Titans owner Bud Adams for unholstering both birds against Bills fans while wearing an unthreatening powder blue blazer back in 2009. But a rookie’s wallet isn’t as fat as an owner’s, so the first-time offender likely looks to lose a few thousand dollars for losing his cool.

Earlier in the game, Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo mocked Manziel by employing his iconic “money” sign after teammate Ryan Kerrigan sacked Manziel on third down. Manziel’s early struggles generated razzing from the opposing team periodically during the game.

Manziel threw for 65 yards on 7 completions, one of them a touchdown, on 16 passes in the 24-23 loss. The performance didn’t appear enough to topple Brian Hoyer from his presumed spot at the top of Cleveland’s depth chart.