Johnny Manziel asked for forgiveness and privacy. He didn't ask for the benefit of the doubt, but he's getting it in some corners of the NFL.
Good — he deserves it and has earned it after his long stay in rehab.
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Manziel's offseason has impressed several people around the NFL, some of whom expressed that feeling (un-prompted) to Sporting News in recent weeks.
Getting their attention and admiration was the fact Manziel made the choice to enter rehab and acknowledge he had a problem; that he could no longer deny it; that he could no longer resolve it on his own. The general consensus was it wasn't too late for Manziel now that he had backed up his words with actions. He had shown a long-awaited glimmer of the necessary maturity of an NFL player.
A year ago as the draft approached, Manziel was scaring teams off. The Browns swallowed hard, picked the quarterback in the first round and quickly noticed he wasn't acting like the quarterback, the leader or the franchise foundation they wanted him to be. Did Manziel not know how to become that guy? Or did he know, but didn’t want to dedicate himself to doing it?
Manziel has said the right things before, but his apology Friday is a sign that he gets it. This time he acted and did not take a shortcut or an acceptable front — he entered rehab in late January and didn’t come out until last week , far longer than the standard, 28-day stay most are accustomed to.
That, in many eyes, far exceeds the work ethic he had applied since joining the Browns last spring. Effort, awareness and accountability were among the areas many found sorely lacking in Manziel throughout his rookie season.
His statement provides a sense that he's trying to fix those areas.
"I owe private apologies to a lot of people that I disappointed but a very public one to the Browns organization and the fans that I let down," his statement read in part. "I take full responsibility for my actions and it’s my intention to work very hard to regain everyone’s trust and respect. I understand that will take time and will only happen through what I do and not what I say.
"I also understand there's a lot of curiosity about this but anyone who has a friend or family member that’s been through things like this knows it’s an ongoing process."
It is an ongoing process. But it had to begin sometime, and those who see NFL-level talent were waiting for it to begin so he could fulfill that promise.
