When Johnny Manziel says you’re a bad teammate, it might be time to reevaluate.
The man known as “Johnny Football” had some choice words for Shedeur Sanders after the Colorado quarterback blamed his offensive line after an embarrassing 28-10 to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
“If I was an O-lineman at Colorado, I’d be absolutely pissed. I mean, I really just don’t see how you do this, Manziel said on the “Big Bets on Campus” podcast this week. “I don’t see how you come and throw your own guys under the bus that you’re working with. Grinding with every single week. Week in and week out.”
Sanders was held to 244 passing yards on 23 of 38 attempts with a touchdown and an interception in the loss to the Cornhuskers, adding in a total of -30 rushing yards stemming from six sacks.
“I mean, how many times did [Badgers QB Dylan] Raiola get touched?” Sanders asked reporters sarcastically after the defeat. “Of course, whenever you’re able to run the ball consistently, then it opens up the pass… you know? But you got to understand what your team’s good at.”
Manziel, a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback while at Texas A&M, continued by calling Sanders out for a poor pass that wasn’t the fault of his offensive line.
“I know early on in the game, one thing you don’t do from a quarterback perspective is throw a hitch route, late and on the inside for a pick-six,” Manziel said. “So I mean there is a lot of blame there in that throw that Shedeur made early in the game that turned into a pick-six and really got things, you know, started for Nebraska.”
Sanders’ biggest sin, though, came after the game, according to Manziel.
“This is something you don’t do, I mean your guys are your guys,” he said. “You know, you’re supposed to rock with through thick and thin. Obviously you know frustration and things arise but for me and my instances and my time in the past, your O-line are your guys who ride with you, who rock with you. Anytime your quarterback gets hit late, the first person that you see there are your O-lineman. This is something that may make some of those guys really hesitant to pick you up after a couple of people may bang you around on the defensive side.
Manziel pointed to Sanders’ comments as “definitely something that’s alarming.”
The incident comes a year after Sanders was accused of potentially taking sacks in order to salvage his gaudy passing numbers as a junior.
As a senior, Sanders is among the top names in what is expected to be a weak QB class in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Manziel has a checkered history as a teammate himself, having prioritized partying over football.
He escaped the Cleveland Browns to go party in Las Vegas before the final game of his 2015 season before being released by the team.
The former Heisman winner has since called the decision “childish and immature,” which swiftly ended his NFL career.
Sanders and the Buffaloes have a critical game upcoming against in-state rival Colorado State.