Johnny Manziel Says He Still Holds Deep Resentment Toward Browns After NFL Exit

More than a decade after entering the NFL as one of college football’s biggest stars, Johnny Manziel remains emotionally tied to the franchise that drafted him—but not in a positive way. The former Cleveland Browns quarterback recently revealed that the disappointment surrounding his brief professional career continues to shape how he feels about the organization.

During a candid interview, Manziel acknowledged that he has struggled to let go of the frustrations from his time in Cleveland. Rather than moving on from the experience, he admitted that his negative feelings toward the Browns have only solidified with time.

The comments offer another glimpse into one of the NFL’s most scrutinized player-team relationships in recent memory. Once expected to become the Browns’ long-awaited franchise quarterback, Manziel’s career instead ended after just two seasons marked by inconsistent performances and off-field issues.

Although many former players eventually reconcile with the teams that drafted them, Manziel indicated he has reached the opposite conclusion. Years after his departure, he says he still actively roots against the Browns and believes those feelings are unlikely to change.

1. Manziel Opens Up About Lingering Frustration

Appearing on The Night Cap podcast, Manziel spoke openly about the emotions he continues to associate with his NFL experience. He admitted that he has spent years debating whether it was time to move past his resentment toward the Browns. Ultimately, the former quarterback concluded that he has no desire to let those feelings go. He acknowledged that he still carries anger toward the organization and believes that resentment will likely remain with him indefinitely. The comments reflected a level of honesty that has become increasingly common from Manziel in recent years. Since stepping away from the NFL, he has frequently discussed both the successes and failures that defined his football career, often speaking candidly about difficult chapters in his life. While his remarks may surprise some observers because of the time that has passed, they also underscore how deeply personal professional sports can become for athletes whose careers do not unfold as they had envisioned.

2. Browns Tenure Fell Short of Expectations

The Browns selected Manziel with the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft after his spectacular collegiate career at Texas A&M. As the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, he entered the league with enormous expectations and was widely viewed as a player capable of transforming Cleveland’s long-standing quarterback situation. Instead, his NFL career never developed as anticipated. Off-field challenges and inconsistent performances prevented Manziel from securing the starting role on a permanent basis, and he struggled to establish himself as the franchise quarterback Cleveland had hoped to find. During his two seasons with the Browns, Manziel appeared in 14 games while making eight starts. He finished his NFL career with 1,675 passing yards, seven touchdown passes, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 74.4 before the organization ultimately moved in a different direction. His departure marked the end of a disappointing chapter for both player and franchise. What began as one of the league’s most highly anticipated rookie stories quickly became another example of unrealized potential in Cleveland’s long search for stability at quarterback.

3. Rooting Against His Former Team

Perhaps the most striking part of Manziel’s interview came when discussing how he now follows the Browns from afar. Rather than hoping the organization rebounds or finds future success, he admitted he actively roots for Cleveland to lose every season. Manziel even said he hopes the Browns finish with an 0-16 record each year, illustrating just how strongly he still feels about the franchise. His comments leave little doubt that his relationship with the organization remains deeply fractured years after his playing career ended. Ironically, Cleveland experienced one of the darkest seasons in NFL history shortly after Manziel’s departure. In 2017, just two years after releasing the quarterback, the Browns became only the second team in league history to finish a 16-game regular season without a victory. Whether those feelings eventually soften remains uncertain. For now, Manziel has made it clear that time has not erased the disappointment he associates with his NFL experience in Cleveland, and he continues to view the Browns through the lens of a relationship that never reached the expectations either side envisioned.