Lying Proves That Johnny Manziel Came to NFL Too Soon

Nov 15, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) passes the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The warning signs were there from the beginning.  A lot of NFL experts believed that while Johnny Manziel had enough talent to succeed as a pro, there were plenty of red flags to insist he lacked the maturity.  He was too young, too impulsive and too in love with the college party life to take on the responsibility of leading men to battle on Sundays.  Never has that been more clear than with the most recent incident.

A video surfaced of the second-year quarterback partying during the Cleveland Browns bye week.  This apparently after the team expressed the desire that he hang around the team facility and lay low for once.  The fact alone that he ignored them was a bad sign, but more information has come to light that really puts his benching and his likely dismissal from the team down the road into perspective.

"“As if Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel hadn’t already given the team more than enough reasons to never trust him again, here’s another. According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Manziel lied to the Browns about the circumstances surrounding the photos that surfaced following his bye-week excursion to Texas.Per Glazer, Manziel not only told the team that the photos weren’t taken over the weekend but also recruited others to vouch for the falsehood.”"

That doesn’t just signal the fact that Manziel has his priorities in the wrong place, it shows he lacks a degree of honesty that great quarterbacks need to get teammates and coaches to trust him.  For all the good things he did in college, it’s apparent he probably left before he learned the final ingredient to being a winner:  responsibility.

Hard as it is to admit, NFL teams don’t like players that show intent to deceiver for their own selfish gains.  Johnny Manziel already had enough doubts before he even took a snap in Cleveland.  With the growing list of problems he’s caused since making the jump last year, he’ll have a stigma around him that is almost impossible to erase.

Thing is, it’s his own fault.