Ever since Vince McMahon announced the return of the XFL, the speculation about whether a team in the league would roll the dice on signing Johnny Manziel has swirled.
It started when the ex-Browns QB tweeted “#XFL2020 @VinceMcMahon” during the initial XFL press conference in January of 2018, although McMahon did say if a player had a criminal record, he wouldn’t play in the league.
Yet since then, with Manziel’s stops in the Spring League, in the CFL, and the AAF, it seems like it’s been the XFL that the quarterback has been eyeing, specifically the franchise in Houston, known as the Roughnecks.
But as for Manziel’s chances with the Dallas Renegades? Count them out. Daryl Johnston — the team’s director player personnel — had this to say, via the Dallas Morning News:
“I passed on him in San Antonio and I’d pass on him again here,” said Daryl Johnston, former Cowboys fullback and Renegades director of player personnel who had the opportunity to sign Manziel to the San Antonio franchise in the short-lived Alliance of American Football a few months ago.
“For me the chemistry in the locker room is critical, and especially the quarterback position. He kind of sets the tone, especially for the offensive side of the ball, but really for the whole team. There is so much added responsibility that goes with the face, goes with the voice of the franchise. And I haven’t seen that from Johnny on a consistent basis that I would feel comfortable committing to him.”
That may not matter if Manziel is given the green light and if the Roughnecks have mutual interest. Houston head coach and general manager June Jones talked in May about working with Manziel while he was with the Tiger-Cats in the CFL and assumed he’d be in the draft pool:
The last word goes to Manziel, who said in a recent AMA when asked if he plans on joining the XFL, “every football opportunity is a possibility.”
