Report: Johnny Manziel may not get playing time in first CFL season

Johnny Manziel has signed a contract with the CFL now that it has become clear no NFL teams are willing to give him a second chance just yet, but fans should not expect him to take the Canadian league by storm — at least right away.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats coach June Jones said over the weekend that Manziel is not going to have an easy time beating out former Oregon star Jeremiah Masoli for the starting QB job. While that may just be Jones’ way of trying to motivate a player who has had trouble staying focused both on and off the field, one longtime CFL personnel man told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports that Manziel may not play at all in 2018.

Reached out to a longtime CFL personnel man about Johnny Manziel’s transition to the league. Suffice to say, that was a bare-bones, backup QB contract that the former Heisman Trophy winner agreed to, and his climb to actually merit playing time in 2018 could be significant. If anything, 2019 might be more of a stage for him to present himself to NFL scouts, and even that is only if everything goes well on the field and off. “They will start the other quarterback to open the season. They signed him to a bigger contract in the offseason. If he falters early then maybe Manziel gets a shot.”

The acclimation to the rules and larger field will take time and, regardless, the two-year contract is pretty iron clad, so no use opining anymore about the long-troubled quarterback and the NFL until 2020. I give him a lot of credit for basically playing for nothing guaranteed in Hamilton, far out of the limelight, and wish him best. But it’s still going to be a long road back.

Manziel has had trouble landing jobs even outside of football because of his troubled past, so it’s no surprise the Tiger-Cats aren’t simply going to hand him the reigns. Manziel’s contract is reportedly structured in a way that he cannot just bail if an NFL opportunity comes along. If he doesn’t earn any playing time in 2018, those opportunities are going to have to wait, anyway.