Johnny Manziel Worked Out for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats Last Week

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, held a workout for former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel last week. According to TSN, the Tiger-Cats conducted the workout in Buffalo, New York, during the team’s bye week.

However, a source to TSN cast a very pessimistic outlook on the prospects of “Johnny Football” taking his act north of the border anytime soon. Regarding Manziel, the source told TSN that the Texas A&M product presented, “Too many red flags.”

As TSN notes:

Hamilton’s contingent in Buffalo included head coach June Jones, vice-president of football operations Kent Austin, general manager Eric Tillman, assistant general manager Shawn Burke and team president and CEO Scott Mitchell. The group left the session with the understanding that they would not be pursuing Manziel at this time.

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The Ticats were hoping to learn that Manziel, 24, is ready to put his troubled past behind him and dedicate himself to becoming the player he was in college. Most importantly, the team wondered if Manziel could manage becoming the face of a franchise and the attention that would come with a return to the spotlight.

Apparently what the “Ticats” learned, gave them reason to believe that Manziel’s troubled past was not entirely in his past. In addition, Hamilton’s brass came away with the impression that Manziel’s physical conditioning and work ethic weren’t consistent with someone who placed a high priority on football, according to TSN.

Manziel isn’t the only American the Hamilton has auditioned recently. The team also tried to sign former Baylor Bears Head Coach Art Briles. However, that move met with a flurry of public backlash and criticism, due to the multiple sexual assault scandals that occurred at Baylor under Briles’ watch.

Former NFL, Hawaii , and SMU Coach June Jones, is the Tiger-Cats current head coach. Jones also aggressively tried to recruit Manziel to Southern Methodist University. Manziel was drafted 22nd overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2014 NFL Draft. Though, due to partying and numerous other distractions, the Browns released him after only two seasons. Manziel has been out of football since 2015.