Johnny Manziel Hopes to Follow Griff Whalen’s Blueprint in The Spring League

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Think of The Spring League likeĀ baseball at the independent level — no one really wants to be there but it’s really their only option. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. For every Rich Hill, who went from pitching for the Long Island Ducks to a $6 million MLB contract in a five-month span, there are a ton of guys who never make it back to the highest level.

In the case of The Spring League, their biggest success story is that of Griff Whalen, a guy who played caught passes from Andrew Luck at Stanford and with the Indianapolis Colts. Last year, Whalen wound up catching passes for the Baltimore Ravens after taking part in The Spring League’s inaugural showcase. Now, he is currently on the Oakland Raiders’ roster heading into 2018.

While Independent League baseball has better venues and uniforms at this point — The Spring League gear looks like it’s sponsored by ESPN’s First Take — the new spring showcase league is something new and necessary for the world of professional football. At the very least, it gives us a chance to see Johnny Manziel play football again. Manziel, after a full year away from the game, is on the comeback trail and is participating in the 2018 version of The Spring League.

On Saturday, the league played their first games of the year in front of a few thousand fans down in Texas. Manziel, rocking a No. 2 jersey, was the biggest name on hand and looked good in about two-quarters worth of action.

Playing in the second game of the day, Manziel completed nine of his 15 passing attempts and had a few niceĀ scrambles to grab first downs. His biggest highlight came when he rolled out of the pocket and hit former Baylor receiver Antwan Goodley on the run for a touchdown in the corner of the end zone.

Per ESPN, Manziel was happy just to have the pads back on.

“It’s disappointing, some of the things that happened,” he said, “but nevertheless, it’s a huge step for me. I put pads back on. A lot of people wrote me off just to even get to this point. I’m definitely emotional about it. I’m definitely happy about it. This isn’t the end goal for me, but I’m having fun again. I have a smile on my face.”

There are more games to come in The Spring League and hopefully, Johnny Football can keep improving physically and mentally. Everyone loves a good comeback story, and Manziel’s would be one for the ages. After all, if Griff Whalen can make it back to the NFL, maybe a former Heisman Trophy winner can, too.

Currently, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats own Manziel’s CFL rights. They were in attendance, as well as representativesĀ from 17 NFL franchises.

CATEGORY: NFL