Bad to Worse: Johnny Manziel Throws Pick, Suffers Scary Head Injury on Same Play
New league. New country. Same results.
Johnny Manziel may be back in the United States and playing for the Alliance of American Football, but the Heisman winner still hasn’t found the magic that made him one of the greatest college players in recent memory.
Manziel appeared in his second game with the Memphis Express on Saturday, but the game ended with him on the sideline after he was injured in the first quarter.
After taking the snap from the Orlando Apollos’ seven-yard line, Manziel whipped a pass over the middle that could have easily resulted in his first AAF touchdown throw.
But the receiver couldn’t hang on and the ball bounced off his hands and into the arms of a waiting defender.
Always a competitor, Manziel tried to tackle the defender with the ball. That’s when insult turned to injury, as Manziel’s head collided with looked like a teammate’s knee and left the quarterback injured.
Manziel stayed down for about a minute. When he rose to his feet, he was clearly a little dazed. He needed assistance getting off the field and never returned to the game.
He finished the day 2-of-3 passing for 13 yards and that one interception, according to Reuters. He also rushed for 18 yards as Memphis lost to Orlando 34-31.
Manziel may have been too hurt to return to the game, but he was still able to enjoy a snack from the sideline:
The year is 2019 and Johnny Manziel is eating Buffalo Wild Wings on his AAF sideline after exiting with an injury. pic.twitter.com/oyNHJPoWyf
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) March 30, 2019
Saturday was the culmination of about as poor a week as one could have. Days earlier, Manziel had his personal life spill onto the tabloids.
His wife Bre Tiesi deleted mentions of him from her social media accounts earlier this month, and has claimed he broke their wedding vows.
On Wednesday, Manziel confirmed to TMZ that he and Tiesi had broken up.
“This is all very, very personal and very sad,” Manziel said. “I appreciate everyone who has been so supportive of both of us and I would just ask that everyone respect our privacy at this difficult time.”
“My hope is to put my head down and be allowed to focus on work and what is required of me on the football field,” he added.
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