Johnny Manziel recently became a point of conversation after he shared his bold wish for the Cleveland Browns for the upcoming 2026 NFL season.
During a conversation with Chad Ochocinco and Shannon Sharpe on “NightCap,” Manziel said that he is rooting for his former team to go 0-16, as he does every year.
Manziel also added that he will hate the Browns forever and that he has no love for them.
Browns reporter Tony Rizzo expressed his dislike of Manziel’s statement on Monday:
“Johnny, I’m serious. I’m gonna be serious for a moment. Bro, what did anyone do for you except root for you to win? And when it went south, OK, that’s how it goes. Did someone hurt him? Is he a jilted lover? Is there some, so did I miss, was there an incident where somebody attacked him? What went so … why the hate for the team that drafted you? Why?”
Analyst Danny Cunningham added in response that while he can’t answer that question, Manziel’s apparent hatred toward the Browns could be because the former Heisman Trophy winner feels the franchise didn’t give him a good enough opportunity to shine or because the Browns didn’t build the team around him.
“But also, he’s the guy who didn’t put in any work while he was here. He was the guy that would leave after a Monday practice to go party,” Cunningham added.
Analyst Warns Todd Monken on Shedeur Sanders’ Potential Johnny Manziel-Like Future
Johnny Manziel was an extremely hyped college quarterback with a Heisman Trophy under his belt. However, his NFL career was limited, as he was allegedly too focused on the glamorous lifestyle that comes with the league.
Talking about something similar potentially happening to Shedeur Sanders, analyst Anthony Lima said he would want Todd Monken and Co. to be careful, as young players can be easily persuaded during an appearance on the “92.3 The Fan” show.
“I do wanna be careful because I do remember people talking about the aura with Johnny Football, and some of the young players on the team were excited because Johnny was box office,” Lima said. “Like Johnny was a Heisman Trophy winner, and he commanded Saturdays on a big scale against some of the best competition.
“I wanna be careful of that because young players in all these leagues, they can be easily persuaded, they can fall for the same traps that emotional fans do. So we’ll see over time, like, if I’m hearing stuff like aura come at actual training camp, and not shorts-and-shirts season, then that could mean something.”
Shedeur Sanders was selected as the 144th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, despite being projected to be one of the top 10 picks that year.
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