To say that Johnny Manziel’s time with the Cleveland Browns was a disappointment would be a massive understatement. In fact, Manziel’s fall from grace is one of the most fascinating storylines we’ve witnessed in recent memory.
There were so many factors that led to Manziel falling terribly short of the massive expectations everyone had of him when Cleveland selected him in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. As it turns out, one former teammate may have played an integral role in his struggles as well.
Johnny Manziel Throws Ex-Cleveland Browns Teammate Brian Hoyer Under the Bus
That man is former Cleveland quarterback Brian Hoyer, who was the Browns’ heralded QB1 during Manziel’s rookie season. According to Johnny Football, Hoyer’s apparent lack of support played a key role in Manziel’s inability to adjust in the big leagues:
“My quarterback room was not a home for me because of Brian Hoyer,” Manziel said in an interview with Shannon Sharpe on the latter’s Club Shay Shay podcast (h/t Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston). “Brian Hoyer had been waiting on an opportunity to go really provide for his family, get an opportunity and he saw how much of an upper hand he had on me, and he didn’t hold back when it came to that.
“There were instances in the quarterback room early on where I would ask the same question a couple of times and he’d be at the head of the table and go, ‘Pfft, again? We’re doing this again? Keep him out of it. Cut that off.’ And I don’t have a bad word to say about Brian Hoyer. That is just fact of what happened in that room.”
To be fair to Manziel, he did admit that it was ultimately his own shortcomings that led to his fall. However, this hasn’t prevented him from pretty much throwing Hoyer under the bus.
So much so, that Manziel claims that even the other Cleveland quarterbacks during his time would agree with his assessment of Hoyer’s attitude:
“Go ask (former Browns QB) Connor Shaw, who played at South Carolina and was with us in Cleveland. Go ask him how Brian Hoyer was in that room. Go ask (former Browns QBs coach) Dowell Loggains how he was in that room,” Manziel said. “And it’s OK, but at that point in time where I was and I’m the franchise guy, I could have used a little help.”
He could have used A LOT of help.
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