Manziel Getting Golden Opportunity With CFL’s Worst Offense

For the first few weeks of the CFL season, Johnny Manziel has been buried behind one of the league’s best quarterbacks — Jeremiah Masoli — on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ depth chart. While the Cats are just 2-3 on the year, it was clear that Manziel wasn’t getting on the field any time soon. But instead of letting their asset just sit on the bench, the Tiger-Cats decided to flip him for a bunch of significant pieces.

On Sunday, it was announced that Manziel, along with offensive tackle Tony Washington and offensive lineman Landon Rice, would be heading to Montreal — the league’s worst offense — in exchange for defensive end Jamaal Westerman, wide receiver Chris Williams and first-round picks in 2020 and 2022.

The move is great for both sides. This year, the Montreal Alouettes have scored a league-worst 69 points in five games and desperately need a spark. Manziel, known for his dynamic play-making, should be able to provide that spark if given the chance. Judging from what they gave up, I’d say he’ll be under center within a few weeks. After all, the Alouettes’ head coach, Mike Sherman, was the guy who recruited Manziel back in the day at Texas A&M.

Manziel hasn’t played in the regular season but looked sharp during Hamilton’s preseason games.

Right now, the Alouettes have had three quarterbacks get time under center — Drew Willy, Jeff Mathews, and Matt Shiltz. Willy has had the best numbers among the three, although he’s been in the league for seven years and only has one season where he played more than eight games.

Montreal 2018 QB Stats

• Willy: 65.8%, 566 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT, 94.2 EFF
• Mathews: 86.8%, 396 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT, 86.8 EFF
• Shiltz: 62.1%, 160 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT, 62.1 EFF

As of July 22nd, Montreal’s offense ranks last in points scored. rushing yards, and turnovers. Also, among the nine CFL teams, they rank seventh in overall passing yards.