Playing in the NFL appears to be the last thing on Johnny Manziel’s mind at the moment, but one of his former teammates says we should not throw in the towel on the quarterback’s football career.
TMZ caught up with Cleveland Browns tight end Gary Barnidge over the weekend, and the man they call “Big Play” said he’s always willing to help if Manziel needs it.
“He’s got a great group around him,” Barnidge said. “He’s got his family. If he ever needs anything, he knows he can call anybody.”
And that wasn’t even the nicest thing Barnidge said. He also thinks Manziel will play in the NFL again someday.
“I think he can. I think he definitely will,” Barnidge said. “I think he will, as long as he wants to. I know he’s gonna get everything taken care of. I’m looking forward to seeing him back out there.”
Just in case you thought Barnidge was being totally truthful, he also said he has “no idea” if Manziel could end up back in Cleveland or not. Considering there’s slightly less than zero chance that the Browns would welcome their former first-round pick back, we know Barnidge was just giving safe answers.
The truth is not even Manziel knows if he wants to play football anymore. He clearly isn’t taking his current free agent status and legal situation seriously, as evidenced by the joke he made about his mug shot. Barnidge sounds more optimistic about Manziel’s NFL prospects than Manziel himself.
