Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Karlos Dansby, a former teammate of Johnny Manziel, believes he never would have been able to deal with the amount of pressure Manziel was under during their time together with the Cleveland Browns.
“I probably would have committed suicide. Ain’t no telling what would have took place,” Dansby said on The Jim Rome Show on Tuesday. “I couldn’t handle none of it. Nobody in that building could handle any of that pressure that man was under.
“Because it’s specifically for him, and that’s how God designed it. That’s his pressure, only he can handle that. You can only put so much on you that only you can handle. [God’s] not going to give you more than you handle, so he can handle it, I couldn’t handle it, and I told him that to his face. I couldn’t handle what you’re going through right now, I can’t. I can’t live that for you.”
The 34-year-old linebacker talked about the fine line between giving Manziel advice and watching the former Heisman Trophy winner go through some life lessons on his own both currently and when they were in Cleveland.
“It was just tough to really watch him go through that, but I had to step back and allow him to go through that, because it’s going to propel him towards his destiny, whatever that may be,” Dansby said. “He’s going to find it, you know what I’m saying. It’s just going to take some time.
“He had to go through this to get to where he needs to be.”
Dansby said he hasn’t reached out to Manziel lately, but added that the former first round pick knows he’d always be there for him.
“Man, Johnny is my guy,” Dansby said. “It’s just a mutual respect thing and he knows I got his back. If he ever needs me, he knows I’m there for him, regardless. Whatever happens, whatever takes place, if he needs somebody, he can always holler. I got his back.”
