Teddy Bridgewatermight not have wanted to be drafted by the Browns, but Johnny Manziel wanted to be in Cleveland.
Quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains told "Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly" on KBCN-FM on Thursday that Johnny Football, in an exchange of texts during the draft, said he wanted the Browns to draft him.
"We're sitting there and they keep showing Johnny on TV, and Johnny and I are texting and he shoots me a text and he says, 'I wish you guys would come get me. Hurry up and draft me because I want to be there. I want to wreck this league together,'" Loggains said, per The Plain Dealer.
Despite general manager Ray Farmer's insistence that Jimmy Haslam had no part in drafting Manziel, Loggains said the owner wanted the quarterback after he heard the text.
"When I got that text, I forwarded it to the owner and to the head coach (Mike Pettine)," Loggains said. "I'm like, 'This guy wants to be here. He wants to be part of it.' As soon as that happened, Mr. Haslam said, 'Pull the trigger. We're trading up to go get this guy.'"
Loggains also said the Browns tried to trade up with both the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans to ensure they snagged the signal-caller. What we don't know is how many other teams Manziel texted with similar "come get me" pleas.
Regardless of how the quarterback came to Cleveland, the team got its face of the franchise and a quarterback who just might be the man to pull the Browns out of their history-long despair. Perhaps as important for the downtrodden Rust Belt city, it appears Johnny Football wanted Cleveland.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" plays the post-draft version of the game "What's More Likely" and breaks down all the latest news.
