Johnny Manziel will have to wait at least another week for his first taste of regular season CFL action.
The 25-year-old quarterback remained on the sidelines for the Montreal Alouettes during the team's 44-23 loss to the visiting Edmonton Eskimos on Thursday night.
Manziel was traded to Montreal from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last weekend. Despite a report surfacing Tuesday stating he would see some playing time in the Alouettes' first game after acquiring the former Heisman Trophy winner, Manziel watched as Vernon Adams Jr. played the entire game for Montreal.
Adams' night started off well, with the California native capping off Montreal's first drive of the game with a leap into the endzone.
With all eyes on Manziel, #AlsMTL starting QB Vernon Adams Jr. dives into the end zone for the first TD of the game.
— Sporting News Canada (@sportingnewsca) July 26, 2018
(📽:@TSN_Sports)pic.twitter.com/vVJZXhSXwU
Unfortnately for Adams and the Alouettes, things unravelled later in the half as the Eskimos scored 24 points in the second quarter and never looked back.
As the game continued to get out of hand, the fans at Percival Molson Stadium made clear their desire to see Manziel make his CFL debut.
Montreal fans chanting "we want Johnny!"#CFLGameDay #TNF pic.twitter.com/9lB3cIVx9K
— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) July 27, 2018
Montreal head coach Mike Sherman didn't give in to the vocal demands of the Alouettes' faithful, preferring to let Adams finish what he started. Sherman also cited Manziel's lack of familiarity with the Alouettes and the CFL as a reason for keeping his newest quarterback out of the game.
#AlsMtl Sherman says he “wasn’t going to jeopardize (Manziel’s) career with one practice (under his belt),” in response to why he stayed with Adams Jr for full game. #CFL @CFLonTSN
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) July 27, 2018
.@MTLAlouettes coach Mike Sherman said post-game there was a 20 per cent chance of @JManziel2 playing tonight. But with their protection problems it made him concerned Manziel’s lack of experience could lead to an injury. #CFL #Als
— David William Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) July 27, 2018
The Alouettes are back in action Aug. 3 for a Week 8 clash with the Tiger-Cats in Montreal.