Johnny Manziel was nothing short of a complete failure during his time in Cleveland. Despite a few flashes on the field of the skills that won him a Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M, his off-field antics showed he wasn't even close to mature enough for life as a professional athlete.

Since then, a sober Manziel has worked tirelessly to rehab his image and get one last shot at being an NFL quarterback. Though teams have been understandably skeptical if "Johnny Football" has really changed, they have shown interest in his pro day workouts.

The New England Patriots have been spotted at both of his recent workouts talking extensively with the former QB.

They could just be doing their due diligence, but there is growing chatter that they may indeed be interested in bringing him to camp.

Honest self-criticism

Speaking on "The Dan Patrick Show," Manziel opened up about his days as a Cleveland Brown. Per Manziel, had Cleveland done their homework on him, they would have known that he was lazy coming out of college and not a film room guy.

“If you would give me the mulligan, the mulligan would have had to come right after I got drafted,” Manziel said when asked what he would change about his first time in the NFL.

He went on to describe how he was quickly in over his head in Cleveland. He didn't understand the X's and O's of a pro-style offense, and no one seemed eager to help him.

On some teams, a veteran quarterback would take the rookie under his wing, even though that rookie may one day take his job. In Cleveland, it was more of an every man for himself atmosphere as the Browns have cycled through nearly two dozen quarterbacks over the last decade-plus.

It does seem like Cleveland sort of threw Manziel to the wolves when he arrived.

A quarterback who played in a completely different system and never played in a pro-style offense would no doubt need tutoring. Maybe if Josh McCown was there a year earlier, things would have been different.

Is he going to get another shot?

America loves a good redemption story. For Manziel, his transgressions were mainly self-inflicted and self-sabotaging.

He is certainly saying all of the right things right now as he looks for someone to give him an opportunity.

The real question, as it always is in the NFL, is can he play?

He seemed to perform well at the two recent pro days that he competed in. Kudos to his agent for getting Manziel in front of scouts, even if they technically were there to see other players.

Manziel is in a good place mentally and appears to understand he may not get that second shot in the NFL. That humility will go a long way in showing he has matured from the "Johnny Football" kid who flashed money signs after every touchdown.

If things don't work out on his NFL comeback, he still has a spot waiting for him in the CFL.
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