Cleveland Browns flop Johnny Manziel says he is rooting for the team to suffer an 0-16 season, this and every season.
The former quarterback, who was taken 22nd overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Browns after becoming the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy with the Texas A&M Aggies, had two mixed years in Cleveland before being cut in early 2016 following a string of off-field issues.
Almost 10 years on and Manziel is still bitter about how things turned out.
Appearing on the Nightcap podcast, he told co-hosts Shannon Sharpe and Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson: “I think I will always be looked at and viewed at because of how much hype and media and everything that was around me, and the city of Cleveland expecting me to be great, and that ultimately not panning out.
“I finally sit here today and I’m like, ‘f—k it, I think I’m going to be pissed at them and hate them forever, so, it is what it is.
“No love for the Browns, I’m rooting for 0-16 seasons every season.”
It was my fault, but the Browns did not do enough – Manziel
Manziel says he is now mature enough to accept responsibility for the problems he caused but insist the Browns did not do enough to help him.
He added: “I sit here today, and a lot of people will hear me speak cause I tell stories and I’m doing the podcasting stuff, people will always be like I’m blaming stuff on other people, or I’m not accountable or anything like that, but listen, at the end of the day, everything I’ve done in my life, that’s happened to me throughout my football career is only because of one person: myself, and the decisions I made as a man in this life.
“So, was Cleveland the best situation for me to go to, did they help me, knowing all the things they knew about me, with all the research and everything, did they put me in the best situation? Absolutely not. It was not the right situation for me, but when it comes down to it, you take all of that aside, you throw it away, and you look in the mirror and say, I let an amazing opportunity slip, it’s on me, I’m the one that has to sit with myself every single night as I watch college football or watch NFL football and be like, ‘Damn, I would be in my 12th year. I would be XY and Z.’
“I’m the one that has to lay my head on the pillow every night and be like, ‘That could’ve, would’ve, should’ve,’ but it wasn’t.”
Maybe it wasn’t meant to be for me – Manziel
He continued: “And at the end of the day, a lot of my life as I’ve been out of football has been like what am I going to be able to do to find a spark, to be able to be happy, to be able to give me something like football did give me, and you know what, maybe it wasn’t meant to be for me.
“I didn’t put in the time or effort or determination that you need to be great and that was just maybe my stupidity, my youth or what it was meant to be, and nevertheless, I take accountability for everything and what it is. I really didn’t harm anybody other than myself when it’s all said and done.”
Manziel may get his wish in the upcoming season with the Browns only managing three wins last year. They open their season at home to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
