Could Johnny Football come to Dallas?
Jerry Jones' admiration for Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel is no secret, and he often looks at him as the one that got away. When Jones, the owner and general manager of the Cowboys, had a chance to select Manziel with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, he instead chose to select durable guard Zach Martin, who has played 24 straight games.
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"We had Manziel at the top of our board, (still) on the board," Jones told Dallas radio station KRLD-FM, according to CantonRep.com.
Jones didn't necessarily say that he regretted not selecting Manziel when faced with the opportunity back when incumbent quarterback Tony Romo was entering the second year of a lengthy contract. He did, however, gush about what he believes Manziel brings to the table.
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"And we've got the best football player in the draft at the time, but I don't want to go there," Jones said of Manziel, who fell to the Browns with the No. 22 overall pick, when reflecting back on that draft. "But he's a hell of a football player."
Perhaps, someday down the line, Jones will get to re-write his history with Manziel.
Romo is now 35 and his contract is set to expire in 2020, but it's never too early for Dallas to start making long-term plans to look elsewhere. The four-time Pro Bowler also sustained a broken collarbone earlier this season and while he's expected to return, frequent injuries could become a concern.
Manziel, meanwhile, isn't exactly setting the world on fire, and he was under center when the Browns lost to the unbeaten Bengals, 31-10, in Week 9.The quarterback has also had some difficulties in his personal life, though he's looking to change his ways.
The former Heisman Trophy winner may not be the solution to succeed Romo, but at age 22 he still has a lot of time to turn his game around and if Jones is seemingly obsessed with him, he may very well pounce. Jones could either trade for Manziel in the coming years or wait to strike when he becomes a free agent in 2018.
Though Manziel has a long way to go, learning behind Romo for a few years could help him develop into a franchise quarterback. Or, quite possibly, the whole thing could crash and burn.
Regardless, Dallas will always be Jerry's World, and he has the money to make his own dreams come true.
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