Nearly a decade later, Johnny Manziel’s Cleveland Browns stint still feels like a story that couldn’t possibly have happened. His time in Cleveland is remembered less for what he did on the field and more for the controversy that followed him. Now, in 2026, Manziel has revealed another bizarre chapter from his turbulent tenure with the Browns.
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In a recent conversation on Glory Daze, former Texas A&M Heisman winner Johnny Manziel revealed that during his Browns days, he would sneak out of the team hotel at 5 am on game days to smoke and play FIFA.
“I would set an alarm if we had a game day at, like, noon or whatever it was. I would leave the team hotel at 5:00 am. JG [Josh Gordon] and I would walk from the downtown Cleveland hotel we were at to my building,” said Manziel.
“We would go to my building. We would turn FIFA on, and we would rip the f–king bong all morning and smoke a blunt,” he further added.
Fresh off winning the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M, Manziel was selected No. 22 overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2014 NFL Draft. He was supposed to be the future of the franchise, but reality turned out to be quite different. Rather than fully embracing the demands of his transition to the NFL, the QB became known for partying and making frequent trips to places like Las Vegas.
With veteran Brian Hoyer starting for most of the 2014 season, Manziel struggled to master the Browns’ playbook, while his off-field issues further derailed his transition to the NFL. But his problems didn’t begin in Cleveland. Even before winning the Heisman Trophy, Manziel had already run into trouble at Texas A&M.
In June 2012, at 19, Manziel was arrested in College Station following a fight and initially faced charges including disorderly conduct, failure to identify himself, and possessing a fake ID. He ultimately pleaded guilty to failure to identify himself, while the other charges were dismissed.
His partying and lack of commitment to training became such an issue that the Browns were reportedly “alarmed” by Manziel’s antics and even somewhat stunned. Interestingly, one reason the Browns took a chance on Manziel was that he had promised to grow up and put his partying days behind him.
However, just two months into his Browns tenure, Manziel had already broken nearly every rule and promise he made to turn his life around. In the 11 weekends between the draft and training camp, he went on at least eight party trips.
Then came the Fourth of July in Austin, where he was photographed in a bathroom appearing to roll up cash, a moment that reportedly raised serious concerns inside Cleveland.
His images alarmed the Browns so much that then-head coach Mike Pettine called Manziel from Hawaii, where he was vacationing, and demanded an explanation. Yet when Pettine was asked about the image and Manziel’s professionalism, he insisted that everything was still working out.
“I felt very positive coming out of the conversation, and I’m very confident moving forward, now that it’s 100 percent about football, that it will be much less of an issue,” Pettine said.
However, the reality was far different from what Pettine or anyone in the Browns’ front office had expected.
Mike Pettine and the Browns reached their breaking point with Johnny Manziel
Despite the partying, drama, rehab, and off-field antics, the Browns still gave Manziel six starts, the opportunity to prove he could mature, stay professional, and turn his undeniable talent into an NFL career.
However, he blew it all up. Manziel hit the clubs in College Station before a Thursday night game, then did it again in Austin during the bye week. When photos and videos surfaced, he offered the flimsy excuse that they might have been old, not that they actually were. This time, Pettine wasn’t looking to show Manziel any mercy. Tired of the constant drama, the Browns demoted him to third-string quarterback.
“I’m especially disappointed in his actions and behavior because he has been working very hard,” Pettine said. “The improvements from last year to this year have been tremendous, but he still has to consistently demonstrate that he has gained a good understanding of what it takes to be successful at the quarterback position on this level.
“It goes well beyond the field. We are going to continue to support him in every way possible, but at this point, we’ve decided it’s best to go with Josh as the starter going forward,” he further added.
After the entire fiasco, Manziel was released by the Browns on March 11, 2016, ending his NFL career after just two seasons. His struggles continued off the field, with reports detailing financial and personal problems following his departure from Cleveland.
Manziel eventually attempted a comeback in the CFL, signing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2018 before being traded to the Montreal Alouettes later that year.
However, his CFL stint ended in February 2019 when the league directed Montreal to terminate his contract after determining that he had violated an agreement that made him eligible to play.
His life story showcases how a talented person can derail his own life by failing to follow the right path. As of today, he lives a much quieter life in Scottsdale, Arizona, and could soon step into the ring for a celebrity boxing match.