Former Texas A&M superstar Johnny Manziel is back on the open market. Manziel violated the terms of his CFL contract and was subsequently released, and the former Heisman winner is aiming to play football in America once again. Manziel won’t land an NFL gig, but he could latch on with the Alliance of American Football. The AAF is always looking for developmental players, and Manziel’s presence would put fans in the seats. Of course, he wouldn’t be a fit for every roster, so which teams are best suited to land the polarizing quarterback?
AAF Best Fits for Johnny Manziel
San Antonio Commanders
This is the obvious one. San Antonio currently sits at 1-2 in large part due to the underwhelming play of quarterback Logan Woodside. Through three games, Woodside is completing just 51% of his passes for 629 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions. San Antonio has a decent defense, but the subpar quarterback play has drastically hindered the Commanders’ overall success. Nobody knows how much Manziel can give to a team, but it can’t hurt San Antonio to give it a shot.
Additionally, Manziel signing in San Antonio would be something of a homecoming. The 26-year old first appeared on the national radar when he took over as the starting quarterback for Texas A&M. Located just three hours away from his former campus, San Antonio would surely welcome Manziel with open arms. For a league as young as the AAF, teams do need to think about how to establish a local fanbase. Manziel could easily do that while also providing a probable upgrade to the quarterback position.
Atlanta Legends
The Atlanta Legends need something to root for. After having their head coach and offensive coordinator quit prior to the season, Atlanta lost their latest offensive coordinator after Week Three. The Legends are the worst team in the league and quarterback Matt Simms is a genuine nuisance to watch. Manziel can’t fix everything wrong with this team, but he can put fans in the seats.
The only reason this isn’t more likely is that it’s hard to imagine Manziel wanting to place his reputation on the Legends. Manziel still wants to play in the NFL, and the best way to do this is by putting up some good tape. He won’t be able to do that in Atlanta, as the team has no offensive line, wide receivers, or running backs. Additionally, if Atlanta wanted a gimmick to get fans interested in the game, they would’ve already started homegrown hero Aaron Murray. The Legends are a mess, but Manziel would make them somewhat watchable.
San Diego Fleet
Even more so than the Commanders, the San Diego Fleet have a quarterback limiting an otherwise impressive roster. Philip Nelson had a decent game in Week Three, but San Diego is clearly trying to limit his impact on the outcome. Nelson finished Week Three with 193 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. So far on the season, the Rutgers alumnus has completed 55.4% of his passes for 403 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Not bad production overall, but there’s certainly room for improvement. Should Manziel sign, he should be able to post equal or better production while improving fan turnout.
Arizona Hotshots
This only applies if quarterback John Wolford is out for a while. Wolford is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and Arizona would have no interest in Manziel in a perfect world. However, Wolford suffered an injury midway through Week Three’s contest, forcing him to miss the second half of the game. As of this posting, nobody knows the severity of the injury.
Should Wolford miss extended time, the Hotshots would have to turn to Trevor Knight. Knight looked bad in his limited time on the field, completing just 47% of his passes for 95 yards. Arizona is one of the AAF’s elite teams and could end up winning it all. However, any hope for a championship goes out the window with Trevor Knight at quarterback. Arizona is the most complete team of these four, and Manziel should be able to keep their championship hopes afloat if Wolford is seriously injured.
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