Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel was dropped by his agent on Friday, but that and Manziel's NFL future may be the least of his worries at this point. Manziel's father, Paul Manziel, told The Dallas Morning News this week that his son has declined two separate entreaties from his family to enter a rehabilitation clinic.
The elder Manziel now fears just what may befall his son if he doesn't get treatment soon.
"I truly believe if they can't get him help, he won't live to see his 24th birthday," Paul Manziel told The News.
Per Paul, the family tried to get Johnny to agree to go to the Enterhealth Ranch Addition facility in Van Alstyne on Saturday, but Johnny would not stay. They then tried again to have him admitted on Tuesday to Carrolton Springs Hospital, but Johnny was "allowed to leave."
Paul told the doctors at Carrolton that he believed Johnny was suicidal.
Manziel's slide has been precipitous. A former first-round pick just two years ago, Manziel struggled to get on the field his rookie season amid rampant rumors and reports of his immaturity and off-the-field focus. He was allegedly partying constantly and was ill-prepared in terms of either his conditioning or the Browns playbook.
A self-imposed rehab stint followed that initial rocky NFL season, but Manziel seemingly did and said everything right in the months that followed and earned back the trust of many of his teammates, if not yet most of the fans in Cleveland.
NFL year two for Manziel started in a contrite manner, with Manziel on the bench and apparently ready to work his way back onto the field with good behavior and positive practice habits. But an injury to starter Josh McCown thrust Manziel back onto the field and suddenly his partying ways resurfaced.
While he has escaped arrest, the younger Manziel has consistently put himself in situations that are either rife this opportunities for trouble or outright dangerous. He has been seen in numerous videos and photographs drinking, even after his rehab stint. His now ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley, the woman he allegedly assaulted on Jan. 29, said that Manziel acted as if he was on drugs during the incident, though he was not intoxicated.
At this point, football and the NFL seem a distant second to whatever issues are plaguing Manziel.
