Johnny Manziel admits he did not take job seriously enough

Johnny Manziel knows he needs to start taking his career more seriously if he is going to be successful in the NFL.

On Tuesday, Manziel vowed to work harder this upcoming offseason and lose the college mindset.

“I want to be the guy here,” Manziel said, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I have to take this a lot more seriously. It’s a job for me now. I still had the college mindset a little bit.”

Say what you want about Manziel, but he has been honest with reporters over the past few weeks. After his horrendous NFL starting debut against the Cincinnati Bengals, Manziel openly admitted that he could have worked harder throughout the season. He reiterated that on Tuesday.

“I haven’t painted the greatest picture of myself,” Manziel said. “I’m not the Johnny Manziel that came in here a year ago. It’s been a year of growing up for me.”

Despite seeming almost apologetic, Manziel said he does not regret flashing the money sign — which has already become a popular way to taunt him — or anything else he has done in his past.

“No, I don’t regret that,” he said. “It’s part of who I was in college. You can’t suck all the fun out of this game. … I don’t feel like I would have done anything different.”

If Manziel shows he can be an effective starting quarterback in the NFL, the fun will come later. The challenge for him will be getting through an entire offseason without making headlines for tearing up Las Vegas and being photographed in compromising situations.

With the way Manziel’s NFL career has begun, he needs to prove to the Cleveland Browns that he is willing to worry about football more than his party boy lifestyle. You can only get away with that stuff if you’re a winner. Manziel was a winner at Texas A&M. He has a long way to go in the NFL.