Good news: Johnny Manziel is planning to play football in 2016, according to his attorney.
Bad news: Manziel, the Browns' 2014 first-round pick who was released in March, has shown no signs that he's interested in anything other than partying.
The latest: Hours after attorney Jim Darnell said, "His immediate plans are to start getting ready for football," Manziel was spotted clubbing in Los Angeles at The Nice Guy. And while that isn't necessarily news -- he's been seen at countless nightspots throughout the offseason -- this time was different because Manziel was served with legal papers while partying.
According to TMZ, Manziel is being sued for damaging an L.A. rental property back in April. Specifically, Manziel and his friends rented a $4.5 million home, and after two days of partying, did $32,000 in damages.
That led to neighbor Kathy Griffin calling police, and now, according to the real estate agent who rented Manziel the property, someone identifying themselves as suspended Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon was also there.
Nicholas Goodwin, who owns LA Exotic Life, told the New York Post at the time that Manziel and his friends "were supposed to check out at noon. Manziel was passed out ... There was cocaine all over the kitchen table, and mushrooms were still out on the table in front of him. There was booze everywhere ... broken glasses over the floor and a champagne glass in a tree."
Goodwin said he returned at 6 p.m. and Gordon was gone but Manziel was still asleep on the couch.
In case you're wondering, Manziel was undeterred by getting served with the lawsuit; TMZ reports that, "he got right inside his Rolls-Royce and moved over to Warwick ... where he partied [and left] with a beautiful lady."
CBSSports.com's John Breech has a running list of some of the things Manziel has been up to this offseason, which just reinforces the reality that returning to the NFL is the least of Manziel's concerns.
- He went to a club in Los Angeles.
- He went to another club in L.A. (He goes to a lot of clubs.)
- He hired a new agent because his old one fired him.
- He went to a club in Miami.
- He went to a Chris Brown concert in Vegas.
- He went to a club in Vegas.
- He went to another club in L.A.
- He got a tattoo.
- He spent some time with Justin Bieber.
- He did $32,000 in damage to a $4.5 million house.
- His new agent fired him and urged him to get treatment.
- He was the passenger in a hit-and-run.
- He watched the NFL Draft at a bar.
- He went to Coachella with Josh Gordon.
- He looked surprisingly thin at a Vegas pool party.
- He partied with Leonardo DiCaprio.
- He skipped a Hamptons party/helicopter ride and "allegedly evaded payment of car accident costs."
- He got another tattoo.
For pretty much the entirety of Manziel's two forgettable seasons in Cleveland, whenever he made news it was for the wrong reasons. The issues were usually of the off-field variety, usually involved partying, and usually put the quarterback somewhere he shouldn't be. And while his employment status has changed, the storyline remains the same. It's why Manziel's father said earlier this year that if his son doesn't get help he won't live to see his next birthday.
