Former Browns QB Claims he ‘Hates’ Cleveland in Heated Rant
Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel took aim at his former city and organization.
Manziel was selected 22nd overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Browns to be their franchise quarterback. However, he struggled as Manziel lasted just two seasons in Cleveland. Despite Manziel only being in Cleveland for two seasons, he’s still bitter with how everything went down and says he roots for the team to go winless every season.
Yikes: Former Browns QB Johnny Manziel says that he HATES Cleveland and hopes that the Browns go winless every season.
“I root for a 0 and 16 season, every season.” 😳
Manziel says that he will forever hate Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/jzQZOIK6Uv
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 2, 2025
“I sit here today and I go back and forth and let Cleveland off the hook and let it go,” Manziel said on NightCap podcast. “Or, am I gonna sit here today with hate animosity in my heart for the rest of my life. I finally sit here today and I’m like, ‘(expletive) it, I think I’m going to be pissed at them and hate them forever.’ So, it is what it is, man. No love for the Browns, I’m rooting for 0-16 seasons every season.”
Manziel feels wronged by the Browns as he started just 8 games in two years, going 2-6. Cleveland released Manziel after some off-field issues, after he was accused of domestic violence involving his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley.
Despite Manziel having off-field issues, which led to his release, the former first-round pick blames Cleveland and the Browns for his NFL exit.
Manziel Doesn’t Believe He Was Browns’ Biggest Bust
Manziel entered the 2014 NFL Draft with plenty of hype after his success in college.
Yet, Manziel struggled to parlay that success at Texas A&M into success in the NFL. After two seasons, he was released and failed to get another NFL job.
Although Manziel is viewed as a draft bust to many, the former Browns quarterback disagrees. Instead, he points to another 2014 draft pick of the Browns that was a bigger bust than him.
“In my draft class, the Browns had two picks (in the first round). With the sixth pick, we took Justin Gilbert from Oklahoma State. I get the most wave of shit for being a bust and this and that. But I wasn’t even the biggest (expletive), and respect to Justin Gilbert, I love him as a human being, but we both flamed out,” Manziel said. “We both (expletive) struggled, and he went, 14 picks before me, so like, I’m not even the biggest bust in my class from the Browns.”
Manziel does have a point, as many have claimed him as one of the biggest busts, but Gilbert was a bust as well. But Manziel was a bigger star out of college, which led to him getting all the attention from the media.
Manziel Doesn’t Believe Cleveland Was a Good Fit for Him
Entering the 2014 NFL Draft, one of the big questions was about who would select Manziel.
The Browns ended up taking Manziel, and looking back on it, the quarterback believes Cleveland was a horrible fit for him.
“Was Cleveland the best situation for me to go to? Did they help me, knowing all the things they knew about me, with all the research and everything, did they put me in the best situation? Absolutely not,” Manziel said on NightCap. “It was not the right situation for me. But when it comes down to it, you take all of that aside and you throw it away. You look in the mirror and you say, I let an amazing opportunity slip. It’s on me.”
Manziel did have stops in the CFL, AAF, and the Fan Controlled Football League after his exit with the Browns.
Lakers Former Champ Reveals Biggest ‘What-If’ Trade Of Kobe Era
The Los Angeles Lakers had immense success with the duo of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. They went to three straight NBA Finals, winning twice in 2009 and 2010. But even with that success, the Lakers were still looking for a way to improve.
Speaking with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Gasol revealed his thoughts on a potential Carmelo Anthony trade that would have had a major impact on the team and league for the following decade.
“Obviously we had a great run, three straight years,” Gasol said. “(But) players with different skillsets add something…You can’t really think about who else you would have loved to play with, if (we) would have had Carmelo.”
Gasol also spoke about Anthony’s career as a whole, with the forward being named one of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees for 2025. Anthony played for the Nuggets, Knicks, Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers, and eventually closed out his career with the Lakers, finishing 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with three Olympic gold medals.
Gasol On A Potential Anthony To Lakers Move
In 2011, Anthony was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks, but according to him, a potential move to Los Angeles was originally in play. Speaking on Dwyane Wade’s podcast earlier this summer, Anthony said that it was a ‘done deal‘ that he was going to become a Laker.
“The deal was done with the Lakers. Me and Nenê for Lamar Odom and Bynum,” Anthony said. “That deal was done. I never thought about New York.”
Now, discussing Anthony’s Hall of Fame career, Gasol commented on the potential move when asked by McMenamin.
“I don’t know (how) exactly that possibility could have happened,” Gasol said. “But the coulda-shoulda-woulda’s are always interesting, because it’s all imagining of what could be in a different situation with certain people.”
During that 2010/11 season, Anthony was in the prime of his career. He was averaging 25 points on 45% shooting, but adding him to the Lakers’ lineup with Bryant as their main scorer would have been a big change to what Los Angeles was used to over the past decade.
Gasol also commented on the potential Chris Paul to the Lakers trade that never came to fruition. He said that regardless of whether either of these trades were ever finalized, the Lakers team led by him and Bryant would have looked a lot different compared to the one that was on the court.
Praise Of Anthony’s Hall Of Fame Career
Though an Anthony to Lakers trade never came to fruition, the former NCAA champion’s success in the NBA spoke for itself. Now one of the newest inductees into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Gasol discussed some of the aspects of Anthony’s game that make him deserving of the honor.
“Melo was just a very difficult guy to guard,” Gasol said. “I saw a player who was determined, who was hungry, who wanted to continue to not just establish himself but really position himself in a different category. He was always a very aggressive offensive player.”
Offensively, Anthony was one of the best players in the NBA through the first 15 years of the millennium, even with the immense talent in his generation. His isolation scoring was top-notch, he was always liable to drop 40 on any given night, and he was very consistent, mostly during his time in Denver and New York.
Gasol believes that, besides just his scoring, Anthony’s versatility was what separated him from other forwards, whether it was in the NBA or international play.
“(He) was kind of more of that stretch four, the guy who can play the three and four position…Really taking advantage of his physicality, his body, his strength,” Gasol added. “Not just a prolific scorer, but him and Kevin Durant have a unique ability with their size, with their skillset, with their mindset, of really changing the game.”
Anthony’s 28,289 total points are the 10th most in NBA history. He was previously the USA’s leading scorer in international play before Durant broke his record in 2024, but his three gold medals are tied for the second-most ever. Anthony is a six-time All-NBA and ten-time All-Star honoree, and won the 2003 college basketball national championship with Syracuse.
