Patriots Rumors: Team no longer exploring Johnny Manziel
Recent New England Patriots rumors involve Johnny Manziel, who is unlikely to join the team now.
New England Patriots rumors have slowed down recently. With the 2018 NFL Draft behind us, and not much going on in free agency, there isn’t much shuffling of the roster done. However, there were still questions at some positions on the Patriots roster.
One of the bigger surprises for New England from the draft was how long they waited to select a quarterback. The Patriots long-term outlook at the position is bleak, but they decided to wait until the seventh round to select LSU quarterback, Danny Etling.
New England passed on Lamar Jackson twice in the first round, someone they were rumored to have a lot of interest in. Mason Rudolph was also passed on, eventually landing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round.
Oklahoma quarterback, Baker Mayfield, was someone New England sounded ready to commit to. However, he ended up going No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns. The Patriots path to landing Mayfield would have been a tedious one, as they would have had to convince the New York Giants that their trade package was better than selecting Penn State running back, Saquon Barkley.
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It surprised a lot of people, but when it comes to the draft, nothing Bill Belichick and the Patriots do should come as a surprise. They always have a Plan B and C ready. Could that plan have been Johnny Manziel?
Earlier in the offseason, there were reports that the Patriots were showing interest in Manziel. Back in March when he was working out at Pro Days, the Patriots reportedly talked with Manziel following his workout at Texas A&M.
However, any chances that Manziel had to sign with the Patriots seems dead. According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, New England’s exploration of adding Manziel is likely over.
"A trickle-down effect of the Patriots drafting LSU’s Danny Etling in the seventh round is that I believe it effectively ends the team’s exploration into Johnny Manziel. In recent months, it’s safe to say the team did its due diligence on Manziel, at one point even considering an additional meeting and/or workout with him outside of the University of San Diego pro day that he had participated in (with a Patriots scout among those in attendance) before plans changed. The Patriots usually carry three quarterbacks and currently have Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer and Etling on the roster."
There is a chance that things could change in the future. Etling is a developmental prospect, as he has a long road ahead of him to become an NFL-level quarterback. However, the Patriots already have a capable backup in Brian Hoyer behind Tom Brady.
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Manziel seems to be on the right track, but his shot at redemption in the NFL is unlikely to come in New England, at least for now.