The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback problem is nothing new. But it never grew into as big a controversy as it did with their once-bust draft pick Johnny Manziel. In 2014, the team drafted the 22nd overall pick, hoping he would be their long-term answer. Fast forward to now, he’s still their biggest off-field problem. As such, Browns analyst Daryl Ruiter did not shy away from sharing his piece of criticism.

“At some point, you need to be accountable for yourself and how you behaved and what you did and your lack of preparation,” Ruiter said during 92.3 The Fan radio coverage on Monday. “The Browns never stuck it to you. Browns fans never stuck it to you. Just keep us out of your mouth.

“You are where you are in life because of yourself. How about some accountability for that? For the unmitigated disaster, you were as a person and as a football player? That was on you. That wasn’t on the Browns. That wasn’t on Browns fans or the city of Cleveland. It was on you.”

Manziel’s stay in Cleveland was as dramatic as it could get. Coming out of Texas A&M, he was a Heisman winner as a redshirt freshman and the fifth-most voted player for the honor as a sophomore. He plunged to the heights with his knack for improvisation while helping a losing team to a 20-6 record with him. That was exactly what Browns wanted as he left for the NFL in 2013.

His exciting playing style created high expectations in Cleveland, but he never established himself in the NFL and finished with 1,675 passing yards and seven touchdowns with seven interceptions in eight starts of 14 games played over two years. But while the team would have waited for him to improve on the field, it was his off-field controversies and lack of discipline that ended it all for Cleveland. Yet, he only blames the Browns for how his NFL career turned out.

“I go back and forth. I finally sit here today, and I’m like, ‘f— it,’ I think I’m gonna be pissed and hate them for the rest of my life,” Manziel said on the podcast. “No love for the Browns. I’m rooting for 0-16 seasons, every season.”

His time in Cleveland became one of the most widely discussed quarterback failures in the franchise’s modern era.

During his time with the Browns, Manziel drew criticism for a lifestyle that didn’t match the demands of an NFL quarterback. He often failed to show enough preparation and commitment during team meetings and practice sessions. One reported incident noted he wore a disguise to visit Las Vegas while in concussion protocol and missed a required medical check-in.

His Netflix documentary also revealed that after leaving college, Manziel stuck with the bad habits that were far from what was expected of him as an NFL quarterback. The popularity he gained as Johnny Football all went down the drain as the team cut him for good.

The Cleveland Browns signed free-agent quarterback Robert Griffin III to a two-year contract in 2016 after Manziel’s release. However, he couldn’t help the team, starting five games to win only one. Then came Cody Kessler, Charlie Whitehurst, Baker Mayfield, and Deshaun Watson, and none could help the team improve much. 

Still, more than a decade after the Browns drafted Manziel, he remains one of the most debated quarterbacks in team history as the Browns continue to search for a long-term answer at quarterback.