Shedeur Sanders is one step away from his long-awaited NFL debut. Experts predict the young quarterback will be one of the first three picks in the 2025 Draft. However, Johnny Manziel has warned him that this could be more of a curse than a blessing, especially if the Cleveland Browns choose him.
Manziel was the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 Draft by the Browns. Despite this, his NFL career barely lasted two years due to recurring injuries, off-field problems, and the lack of stability within the Browns organization.
“Johnny Football,” as he was nicknamed, left the team in 2015 and spent two years away from football before returning in 2017 to the Canadian Football League (CFL). With that background, it’s clear that Manziel knows what he’s talking about when he warns that Cleveland is one of the toughest places Sanders could land.
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Cleveland is a huge distraction
Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns have started 40 different quarterbacks, and Johnny Manziel was one of them. Speaking on the podcast “Next Up with Adam Breneman,” the former player recalled, “Cleveland was definitely a tough place, especially coming in as a quarterback.”
Manziel warned that the team’s instability isn’t the only problem, as the organization is full of distractions. “We would be walking between our meetings and stuff, and also our ticket sales and everything else from an organizational standpoint were in the same building.”
The former player added that it even felt like a downgrade compared to NCAA football programs. “It was a little backwards compared to what we were used to in an all-football building in college,” Manziel said.
The Deion Sanders threat
Experts predict that the Tennessee Titans will pass on Shedeur with their first-round pick, leaving the way open for the Browns, who are second on the list. However, Deion Sanders, the young quarterback’s father, has already warned that he will not allow “certain” teams to take his son.
Deion has hinted that if one of the teams on his blacklist selects Shedeur, they could follow the example of Eli Manning in the 2004 draft. That means Shedeur would refuse to sign a contract until a trade with the team of his choice is achieved.
It remains to be seen whether the Browns are on Coach Prime’s blacklist, but if they are, we could witness one of the greatest off-field battles of recent years.