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Rick Zamperin: Are Hamilton and the CFL ready for Johnny Manziel?

Johnny Manziel during his playing days with the Cleveland Browns.
Johnny Manziel during his playing days with the Cleveland Browns. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

It’s only a matter of time before Johnny Manziel becomes a Ticat. But will he live up to all the hype?

In a statement Sunday afternoon, the Tiger-Cats announced that they have officially offered a contract to Manziel, who has been on the team’s negotiation list since 2012, when he was playing at Texas A&M.

The announcement came on the last day of a CFL-imposed 10-day window for the Ticats to extend an offer to the Heisman Trophy-winning, former NFL quarterback.

Now that the offer has been made, that window to sign Manziel to a CFL contract extends to one year. He becomes a free agent after that, but don’t expect either side to take that long to get a deal done.

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By the start of training camp this spring “Johnny Football” will be wearing black and gold.

Manziel’s talent on the field, as demonstrated by his Heisman Trophy in 2012, is undeniable. It was his highly publicized off-field issues that derailed what was once a promising career in pro football.

For everyone’s sake let’s hope Manziel can stay out of trouble north of the border and be an effective player for Hamilton, on and off the field.

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