Former Browns first round bust Johnny Manziel is trying to salvage his career in the CFL. Manziel’s first preseason game with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats took place over the weekend. Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan was in attendance.
I'm watching some preseason football tonight, guys. One interesting thing: #Jets GM Mike Maccagnan and #Texans pro scout Chris Blanco have seats in the press box for Johnny Manziel's CFL debut. pic.twitter.com/xn7OCMMuFE
— Lorenzo Reyes (@LorenzoGReyes) June 1, 2018
Naturally, the Twitter reaction was measured. Here is a sampling of the responses.
I still think our GM is blind when it comes to the most important position in sports.
Seriously...why do the people who run my teams do the dumbest most pointless s***
Why?
They need another QB???
I don’t know when scouting a player became the same thing as a signing being imminent, but let’s clear a few things up.
Manziel’s two year contract in the CFL means he isn’t coming to the NFL anytime soon. NFL teams cannot sign players under contract in the CFL. You can read here about a star CFL player named James Wilder who is sitting out this season entirely because he cannot sign with an NFL team. So any scouting of Manziel would be for the distant future.
In addition, just because the Jets scout a player does not necessarily mean they like what they see. The whole point of scouting is figuring out how good a player is. The Jets might like what they see from Manziel. They might not. That’s why Maccagnan was there.
The 2017 season provided us with plenty of examples to show how important the backup quarterback spot is. The Jets are going to be searching for a long-term backup for Sam Darnold. At this quiet time of year, there’s nothing wrong with spending some time looking at a former first round pick who is trying to turn his career around and could conceivably fill that role in a few years.