Judging by various bits of reporting, his Instagram feed, his lawyer's text messages, his father's comments, his four-game suspension, and his play on the field during his two seasons so far, Johnny Manziel is in no condition to play professional football right now. That, of course, is not stopping the Arena Football League from offering him an opportunity to do so.
At least that's what AFL commissioner Scott Butera says.
"We could provide a strong platform for him to demonstrate that he is back," Butera told TMZ Sports. "We would also work with him and provide him whatever help he needed to live a healthy life."
It's not unheard of for NFL players to ply their trade in the Arena League before working their way back to the highest level of pro football. A guy by the name of Kurt Warner did it not too long ago, and he had some of the best QB seasons in NFL history.
But before he even considers playing football in any league, Manziel needs to get his life together. He needs to deal with his legal issues. He needs to not get into legal issues in the first place. He needs to get help for what is apparently a fairly serious drug problem, according to his father. He needs to dedicate himself to getting better, and then dedicate himself to his craft.
Manziel did say that he planned to get sober starting on July 1, but that is somewhat class addict behavior. They identify a future point at which they will get sober, and then they don't actually do it. We'll see if Manziel sticks to his plan, but he will likely have to prove he's sober and a whole lot more before he ever gets another NFL shot.
