Johnny Manziel doesn't have future with Cowboys, per team VP

ByJean-Jacques Taylor ESPN logo
Friday, August 12, 2016

Dallas Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said it as emphatically as he could Friday morning: Johnny Manziel is not going to play for the Cowboys.

"There's no chance," Jones said on CBS Sports Radio's Tiki and Tierney, when asked if the Cowboys would consider signing Manziel. "Obviously Johnny needs to get his hands around his life. He needs to do the things that make him a good person off the field, I think, before he can ever be successful in our league."

There has been a steady stream of conversation regarding Manziel joining the Cowboys almost since the day the Cleveland Browns released him in March.

Manziel grew up in Texas and played at Texas A&M, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said he wanted to take the former Heisman Trophy winner in the first round of the 2014 draft. Last week, Manziel told TMZ he wanted to play for the Cowboys.

After signing with a team, Manziel would have to complete a four-game suspension, which the NFL handed him in June for a violation of the substance-abuse program.

"Unfortunately, he has some things that are holding him back not only as a football player, but as a person in life," Jones said. "We certainly hope he gets his hands around that because he's obviously a guy who has some very unique successes in his life.

"I hope he is able to get his hands around his life, and at some point if he does, I'm sure he'll get another chance, but at the moment, it certainly won't be in Dallas."