Johnny 'Canada' breaks silence on CFL career - 'This isn't just a pit stop'
On Saturday, Johnny Manziel announced that he is returning to pro football north of the border as he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL.
Almost immediately afterward, many began speculating that this is just a steppingstone for Manziel as he tries to work his way back to the NFL.
While it might be so, “Johnny Canada” won’t admit as much as he says he’s just focused on being the best CFL player he can be and isn’t looking ahead.
“I’ve signed to the CFL. I’ve signed to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats,” he said in his introductory press conference. “I don’t know what two years down the road looks like for me. Maybe I come up here and I love it and I don’t want to go anywhere.
“At the end of the day I’ve played in the NFL. That’s what I’ve known, but I’ve never played this game. Right now I’m in the CFL, I have this contract and I’m committed to this contract and this team.”
Manziel added: “I want a chance to get on the field and get into the locker room and get a chance to play ball again. This isn’t just a pit stop for me. I’m not coming here to get what I need to go back down to the NFL.”
.@JManziel2 is officially in the #CFL & he's focused on now, not looking down the 🛣️
FULL VIDEO: https://t.co/vgVgmlDBSy #Ticats #CFL pic.twitter.com/PIYfuiwGTQ
— CFL (@CFL) May 19, 2018
Manziel signed a two-year deal with the Ticats, though it’s unknown if he has an out-clause that would let him return to the NFL.
If he does complete his full two seasons in Canada, then Manziel could return to the NFL as soon as the 2019 season. The CFL season ends in November so Manziel could realistically latch on with an NFL team at the end of the 2019 season.
Manziel will enter a crowded quarterbacks room in Hamilton and will compete with many CFL veterans for the starting job.
The current Ticats starter is Jeremiah Masoli, who was the starting QB at both Oregon and Ole Miss while Manziel was still in high school.
“I want to play, as anybody does,” Manziel said. “I know there’s talent in our quarterback room and I respect the guys we do have. I know there’s going to be a learning curve and I’m going to have to take some time. I have realistic goals to come in, learn the offense, learn the game and hopefully my talent and making some throws and doing some things I feel I can do on the football field will show.”
Ticats coach June Jones backed Masoli as his starter and said Manziel will have to compete for playing time.
Here's Johnny.
Check out some of the best images of @JManziel2 from the @Ticats first practice.
📷: https://t.co/P6ZdxiSHLC pic.twitter.com/Q7EkjxTz3c
— CFL (@CFL) May 20, 2018
“Let me tell you something right now: He has got his work ahead of him to beat out Jeremiah,” Jones said of Manziel. “Now, I am a firm believer, even when I was in the NFL, I wanted three quarterbacks that had started and played in the NFL. You can’t have too many quarterbacks because you’re one play away.”
Manziel’s only other competitive football action since being cut by the Browns after the 2015 season was the two-game Spring League earlier this year.
He’s hoping his play in the CFL will get him back on the radar for NFL teams just as it did for fellow Heisman winner Doug Flutie and Hall of Famer Warren Moon.
Flutie played eight seasons in the CFL before rejoining the NFL at the age of 35. Moon spent his first six pro years in Canada before joining the Houston Oilers, where he would be coached by June Jones for two of his 17 NFL seasons.
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