As Johnny Manziel prepares to open the second chapter of his pro football career, wife Bre Tiesi has shared a look at the quarterback's lost years.
Manziel is slated to start for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes on Friday night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — his first start in a pro game since 2015.
The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and the Browns' first-round draft pick in 2014, Manziel flamed out in the NFL amid a cloud of substance abuse and off-field incidents. But the 25-year-old QB cleaned up his act, earning a second chance.
SIGN UP to watch every NFL game and RedZone this season on DAZN
Tiesi told TMZ Sports she wondered if this day would ever come.
"It was just one of those things where it's like, 'Are we ever gonna get out of this?' Like, 'Are you gonna pull it together?'" she said.
“I feel so blessed that we’re here and that he gets another opportunity. He’s such a football guy — he’s such a ‘that guy.’ It just changes him completely, being on a team and being around the guys again. Football’s his entire life.”
Manziel credits Tiesi with helping him turn his life around. Signed by the Tiger-Cats in May, he was traded to Montreal less than two weeks ago.
The quarterback told “Good Morning America” earlier this year he used alcohol to self-medicate his bipolar disorder but is now taking medication. Now, with his condition under control, he's ready to resume his career. Tiesi told TMZ Manziel wants to return to the NFL.
“I would say yeah, obviously, that’s where he started, he’d like to get back there,” she said. 'But at the same time, he’s really appreciating where we’re at and the people that gave him a chance, and if he’s here three or four years before he goes back, that’s fine. But ultimately, yeah, that’s always going to be the goal.”
"This isn't just a pit stop for me," Manziel told reporters in May. "I'm not coming here to get what I need to go back down to the NFL. I've signed into this for the long haul, for two years.
"I'm here to make the most of it.''