Cleveland Browns

Cowherd: Manziel sabotaged himself 'cause he wanted Cleveland to cut him

Published Mar. 16, 2016 5:14 a.m. ET

Andre Vergara

Everyone watching Johnny Manziel spiral out of control has asked the same questions:

How can the guy keep making such bad choices? Why does he keep doing the wrong thing?

The answer, Colin Cowherd says, is simple: Manziel sabotaged himself because he wanted out of Cleveland.

"Johnny Manziel made up his mind in the middle of this season — 'Get me the hell outta here,'" Cowherd said this week on "The Herd."

"So Johnny Manziel is going on this TMZ tour 'cause he wanted to get cut by Cleveland. He wanted out of the AFC North. He's not dumb. He's a warm-weather kid who does private jets, he's in Vegas, Dallas, Miami ... Has he taken any of these jets to Milwaukee?

"You ever notice where he takes these jets to? It's sunny, warm with cute girls."

Cowherd may be on to something, if you look at Manziel's pattern of seemingly defying the Browns by partying and not fulfilling his promise that he'd take the job seriously. Plus, consider the fact that both his agent and his marketing agency cut ties with him. Clearly, Manziel was going against the advice of the people trying to help him.

However, Manziel's problems have gone beyond insubordination — he's still being investigated over allegations that he hit his ex-girlfriend and threatened to kill them both. That kind of trouble not only can get a guy cut, but also can keep him from finding another job in the league.

Cowherd acknowledges that Manziel "may have a problem here and there," but believes most of Manziel's bad PR has been done deliberately to get him out of Cleveland.

Whether Manziel's dumpster fire was by design or the product of an out-of-control personality, it may not matter if it scared off the teams Manziel wants to play for — and all the other ones, too.