When did Johnny Manziel debut as a NFL player? Career graph explored as he recalls feeling ‘shame and regret’ over football collapse

Johnny Manziel’s entrance to the NFL came with high hopes. He was drafted in 2014 by the Cleveland Browns in the first round, as the 22nd overall pick. His first official game time came that same year as a backup, though his first start would come later in the season.

Over the course of two seasons in the NFL, Manziel’s career faced numerous difficulties. Long after his NFL career, Johnny Manziel has spoken openly about how he feels about what he called the collapse of his football life. He says he lives with shame and regret and that he lost parts of himself in the process. In a recent public appearance on Special Forces, he expressed those feelings.

Johnny Manziel's debut and early career

Johnny Manziel saw his first limited action in 2014 when he appeared in 5 games that year, though he was not the starter in all of them. His rookie season statistics include 175 passing yards, and he threw 2 interceptions. His passer rating that season was 42.0.

His first start came on December 14, 2014, in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. In that game, he completed 10 of 18 passes for 80 yards and tossed two interceptions. The Browns lost that game.

In 2015, Johnny Manziel received more chances. He played in 9 games that year and attempted 223 passes, completing 129 of them. He threw 7 touchdowns, but also 5 interceptions. His performance that season helped inflate his career totals. Yet his time in the NFL ended soon after.

Overall, in his two NFL seasons, Manziel had a 2-6 record as a starting quarterback. After 14 games, 8 starts, and mixed success on the field, the Browns parted ways with him.

Johnny Manziel's NFL career was brief, but he continued playing football later in other leagues, including the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the short-lived Alliance of American Football.

Johnny Manziel's reflection

Years later, Johnny Manziel has spoken publicly about how he views what happened to his football career. He regrets many things and says he lives with a sense of shame.

On the season four premiere of Special Forces, he opened up. He said he often thinks back to how things went wrong. He said after winning the Heisman and getting early fame, things changed for him. He said,

"I think, after I got my most success and won the Heisman Trophy as a freshman, I think I just got treated differently."

He admitted he lost part of his work ethic.

"I lost a huge part of my work ethic. I gave up on a real opportunity, a football career, and walked away from it pretty quick."

He also said he did not always see his mistakes until it was too late.

"Looking back, I felt like I wouldn't be able to live with the shame and the regret. It got to a point where, you know, I didn't want to live and I did want to end my life."

In earlier interviews and documentary pieces, he revealed he had planned to take his own life. He said he had bought a gun and intended to spend money and then end it all.

Manziel acknowledged that he had given up on himself at times.

"I gave up on myself and lately, it’s been something that’s eating me alive."

He said those years after leaving football have been hard, and he now spends a lot of time on a golf course, trying to find peace. The collapse he speaks of is not just about a career falling apart. It is about identity, regret, and trying to come to terms with what he did and what he lost.

He has also blamed himself and has said that he let down people around him. He said he regrets letting people down. He has also been candid about mental health.

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"When I had gotten everything I’d ever wanted, I think I was the most empty that I ever felt inside. I think I was trying to suppress how I felt and get out of being Johnny Football."

Whether football fans remember him for brilliance or for what might have been, Manziel himself is now telling a more raw, honest story, one of ambition, fall, and the long fight to face regret.

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