'I Hated Cleveland': Johnny Manziel Admits the City Contributed to His ‘Depression’

From Drew Brees’ physical evaluation with the Miami Dolphins to 31 teams passing on Lamar Jackson on night one of the 2018 NFL Draft, there’s certainly no shortage of ‘What if?’ moments throughout the NFL’s 105-year history. One of the more prominent hypotheticals of the time, however, has been the career and status of Johnny Manziel.

The former face of the Cleveland Browns entered the league as one of the most highly anticipated prospects in recent times after having become the first ever freshman in the history of college football to win the Heisman trophy. The rest, as they say, is history.

Manziel struggled on and off the field, both mentally and physically, before ultimately being released in 2016. During a recent interview on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, however, Manziel suggested that living in the city of Cleveland did little to help his dwindling mental health.

“F--- man, I hated Cleveland,” he exclaimed. “That place definitely f------ ate into my depression a little, for sure.”

Much to their own dismay, the Browns have a longstanding reputation of being the least desirable landing spot for rookies on draft night. When asked if he had a preferred destination in mind, the former 22nd overall draft pick jokingly explained that “…anywhere but Cleveland” would have been good enough for him.

“Even in the beginning, I was like, ‘Okay. We can work with this here a little bit… And then that first real November, brutal winter was there… Coming from Texas… It was tough sledding for me for sure,” he said.

If it weren’t for his habitual consumption of various substances, gambling, and poor career choices, some believe that Manziel had the potential to become one of the greatest signal callers in the history of the National Football League.

While he certainly won’t shy away from the fact that his life is merely a cautionary tale for professional athletes, the Texas A&M legend doesn’t necessarily believe that he was a few less drinks away from becoming the next Tom Brady.

“I definitely could have been a person that played in the NFL for eight to 10 years, got to a second contract and had success. I had a lot of talent, a lot of ability, that I knew was special. I just didn’t work on it the way that I needed to take it to that next level.”

The faithful members of the Dawg Pound surely won’t be pleased to hear their disgraced signal caller talking down on their beloved city. But then again, considering the circumstances under which Manziel left the team, it’s safe to say that his opinion doesn’t hold much weight with anyone residing in the state of Ohio.

For better or worse, Manziel will go down as one of the most divided figures in the history of Cleveland, but at least it’s a mutual one.