Johnny Manziel went drinking with Rob Gronkowski before Patriots draft visit
What do you get when you combine Rob Gronkowski with a soon-to-be rookie Johnny Manziel? Exactly what you might expect, according to the former NFL quarterback.
In the most recent edition of his new “Comeback SZN” podcast with Barstool Sports, Manziel shared an entertaining story about the pre-draft visit he took with the New England Patriots in 2014. He said he did his best to behave himself at the hotel the team put him up in, but he still managed to find some trouble when he tried to have a nice quiet night with a bottle of wine and no wine bottle opener.
Manziel said he tried to open the bottle without an opener, and wine ended up spraying all over the hotel room.
“I remember calling (agent Erik Burkhardt) and being like, ‘Do you think the Patriots are going to get the report of what standing this room is in by the time I check out of here, because it’s gonna take me at least a day and a half to clean the s— off the walls, off the ceilings, the new bed sheets, everything,'” Manziel recalled, via an audio clip shared by TMZ.
Not long after that, the perfect storm of partying came together when Manziel got a call from Gronkowski.
“After that failed attempt to try and be on the good side of my visits, I get a FaceTime from Gronk,” Manziel said. “As I answer he’s like, ‘You’re here for your visit, I just saw on Twitter. I’m outside your hotel. I just got out of practice, you want to hang out?’ That escalated probably a little bit more than just having a bottle of wine in the hotel room. For as big as he is, that guy can actually play some ping-pong, I was surprised … and maybe drink a couple beers.”
Manziel and Gronk obviously managed to stay out of trouble, or we probably would have heard something about it. And based on some of the things Manziel put the Cleveland Browns through after they drafted him, we know he didn’t need Gronk’s help to find a good time. Considering no one was arrested, things could have gone much worse.
