CLEVELAND: Monday illustrated what the Browns have been saying about quarterback Johnny Manziel all season: When he’s with the team, he does all the right things, though his conduct away from the organization can be a cause for concern.
Manziel and some of his teammates volunteered Monday at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to prepare Thanksgiving meals and package items for local shelters and pantries throughout Northeast Ohio.
But about an hour before Manziel arrived for his 2 p.m. shift, a video showing him partying surfaced online and created a stir.
Manziel suggested the footage could be old but declined to comment further.
“I haven’t seen it, so I can’t speak on it,” Manziel said when asked if the video was old.
According to BustedCoverage.com and TMZ.com, Manziel partied on consecutive nights late last week in Austin, Texas, just a few days after the Browns named him the starter for the remainder of the season and the 22nd overall pick in last year’s draft vowed not to embarrass the organization with his off-field behavior during a five-day, bye-week break.
In addition to the video, BustedCoverage.com posted two photographs from social media in which Manziel posed with revelers at nightclubs. TMZ.com cited unnamed “witnesses” who said Manziel was drinking at Austin hotspots on Thursday and Friday night.
Manziel’s partying has been well documented in the past. After all, it led to him spending more than 10 weeks this past offseason in an inpatient rehabilitation facility specializing in alcohol and drug addiction treatment.
In the video that surfaced Monday, Manziel is holding a large bottle while singing and dancing at a nightclub alongside a deejay known as DJ LX, who posted the video on Instagram, later deleted it and then told WKNR (850-AM) the footage is old.
The caption on DJ LX’s Instagram post read, “Sippin on Dom Perignon for no reason with Johnny Manziel.’’
“Videos can be old,” Manziel said. “Videos can be all kinds of different things. I’m not in a state to be able to speak on it because my focus has been on this [event at the Food Bank] and what really matters in this game on Monday. So that’s where my focus has been. I did get a chance to relax. So I haven’t seen [the video], and I’m not going to be able to speculate on it right now.”
Manziel never denied partying last week, though. He said he went back home to Texas during the break, returned to Ohio early Saturday, attended Ohio State’s 17-14 loss to Michigan State in Columbus and studied the Baltimore Ravens (3-7), who will visit the Browns (2-8) on Nov. 30 for an AFC North matchup on Monday Night Football.
“This has been my main focus: getting back, getting prepared and then coming here for this [event at the Food Bank],” Manziel said. “So I haven’t seen anything or heard anything [about the online video and photos]. I’ve been here for this event, and that’s really what I want to talk about, the things that are really important, not what I’m doing off the field. It’s what we’re doing here in the community and what we’re doing to get ready for this game on Monday night. So that’s where my focus is, and I haven’t had my focus anywhere else. I know that.”
A Browns spokesman said the team had no comment on the video and photos. Manziel’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Browns coach Mike Pettine revealed he spoke to Manziel about his off-field conduct the morning of Nov. 13, when he named him the starter.
“I let [Pettine] know that I’m not going to do anything that’s going to be a distraction to this team or be an embarrassment to the organization,” Manziel said later that day, adding, “I don’t think [the Browns are] going to have to worry about me [during the bye] week.”
Manziel, 22, felt the need to make those promises because of recent events.
He told Avon police he and girlfriend Colleen Crowley were drinking about four hours before their infamous, in-car fight on Oct. 12. The NFL announced Nov. 17 it did not find sufficient evidence to punish Manziel for his altercation with Crowley under its personal conduct policy.
Manziel was also photographed with partygoers the weekend of Nov. 7 during a trip back to his old stomping grounds at Texas A&M University.
Eyeing the Ravens
The Ravens took big blows Sunday when quarterback Joe Flacco (torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in knee) and running back Justin Forsett (broken arm) suffered season-ending injuries.
Flacco, who’s 13-2 against the Browns, will be replaced by Matt Schaub, who’s 1-3 against the Browns. Forsett, who had 151 carries for 641 yards (4.1 average) and two touchdowns this season, is backed up by Javorius Allen, who has 64 carries for 249 yards (3.9 average) and no touchdowns.
But Browns outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo isn’t underestimating the Ravens, who lost 33-30 in overtime to the Browns on Oct 11, because they’ll be missing Flacco and Forsett.
“This is the NFL,” Mingo said. “It’s always next man up. It always has been. And they have talented backups. They’re in the NFL. They’re NFL-caliber players, so we’ve got to be ready for whoever shows up. You never want to see anybody get hurt, but either way, they’re going to have somebody that’s going to come in and get that job done.”
Mingo also revealed how he spent his downtime: “I spent the bye laying on my couch.”
Good cause
Last year, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank supplied more than 45 million meals to individuals in Ashland, Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Richland counties.
The Browns have helped supply nearly 100,000 meals for the Food Bank this holiday season.
For more information about joining the franchise’s volunteer efforts, visit ClevelandBrowns.com/community.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.