Troubled Quarterback Johnny Manziel Wants a Comeback, but Does the NFL?

Troubled former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel says he is ready for his NFL comeback. But it remains to be seen if the many-times-burned league is ready to give him yet another chance.

Manziel, 24, recently insisted that he has had “a couple conversations with some teams” about returning to the NFL as a quarterback, according to Dallas Morning News.

“I think they are taking it slow, and so am I,” Manziel said. “I know the situation that I put myself in. I know the year I took off and obviously the mistakes that I made. Right now, I’m hopeful. I’m really hopeful.”

But, during his very short NFL career, Manziel managed to throw away second chance after third, after fourth with his aberrant behavior, including substance abuse and domestic violence, not to mention his repeated refusal to even show up for practice on time. He also threw away several chances to get back on the right track with rehab.

But for USA Today, left-wing screedist Nancy Armour took the opportunity to bash the troubled young man and at the same time hoist her banner yet again for anti-American quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

While reporting on Manziel’s claim that he is again ready for his close up, Armour put in her backdoor word for Kaepernick:

But let’s, for a moment, say a team, even two or three, has called Manziel. He claims he’s been working out, and Lord knows there are no other viable quarterbacks left out there to bring in for a look-see. Certainly not anyone with, say, a career completion rate of almost 60%, who last year had a QB rating of 90.7 and who led his Bay Area team to its first Super Bowl appearance in nearly 20 years.

“But I digress,” Armour deadpanned after that.

Granted, Armour is right to be skeptical of Manziel’s claims that he suddenly “gets” it that he was a “douche.” Manziel even admitted as much on Twitter in January:

After blowing it time and again despite a dozen fresh starts with Cleveland and the NFL, it is a bit hard to take “Johnny Football’s” word for it all.

But at least Manziel aimed his destructive behavior at himself, unlike Kaepernick who used his destructive behavior as a weapon against the entire country.

It’s a bit easier to forgive a doofus like Manziel who only made trouble for himself than it is to excuse the behavior of a guy like Kaepernick who attacked his entire country, advocated for destructive political policies, and aided and abetted a domestic terrorist group.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.