Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller has taken up for fellow Aggie Johnny Manziel before, though they never played together in college.
Now, he’s going so far as to say he’d take him as an NFL teammate.
In an interview with GQ Magazine, Miller not only voiced support for his fellow Texas A&M product, but said he’d take him with the Broncos, who just happen to have an opening at quarterback, as you might have heard. The Browns are set to cut Manziel tomorrow, when the league year begins.
“Not only will he be back in the league—of course I’m biased—I still feel like he has a lot of game left in him,” Miller said. “I feel like the world hasn’t even seen him get down yet. Some of the stuff he was doing in college, he gonna do the exact same thing in the National Football League. I feel like—you know you never want to blame a team—I don’t think he had enough support around him.
“Who knows? You might see Johnny Manziel in Denver.”
(That sound you just heard was Broncos executive John Elway using whatever’s left of his voice to scream “Nooooooooo.”)
While the Broncos certainly have a vacancy at the position, it’s hard to imagine going from a guy who “reveres” football to one who simply revels because of it. But Miller insisted that Manziel was intent on fixing things, and the two planned to work out together soon. They spent the weekend in Las Vegas at the UFC fight, and Miller said he’d be there for Manziel wherever.
“We’re going to start working out,” Miller said. “I’m not too big to workout with my buddies. He was never too big to workout with me. I love him to death. And he knows the type of support he has. It’s ultimately all up to the individual but it also takes a support system and the type of support Johnny has is second to none. I’m first on that list. Whatever he needs, I’m going to get it done for him. . . .
“He wants to be great. And whenever you got that hunger for success and greatness, you’re going to find a way. Sometimes you get caught in places where you can only see a foot in front of you, let alone looking 30 weeks, 40 weeks, a year down the road. I think he’s just staying on a consistent path now of keeping his head down, working and paying attention to what’s in front of him.”
Miller’s support of his friend is admirable, we’ve all had friends who backed us when we didn’t deserve it. But while Miller came off his suspension and put in the time needed to remain great in the NFL, Manziel has yet to show he’s willing to. And until he shows up for those workouts with Miller — and then for an NFL team — it’s just talk, even if it comes from the Super Bowl MVP.