Manziel tapped for his first CFL start

Johnny Manziel will take a major step in his attempt at career revitalization Friday night, when he will start for the Montreal Alouettes at home against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

It will be his first appearance in a professional football game since December 2015, when he took his final snaps for the Cleveland Browns before the NFL franchise cut him months later after numerous off-field incidents.

The Alouettes acquired Manziel from the TigerCats in a trade on July 22. Hamilton had signed the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner to a two-year contract in May, but traded him after incumbent quarterback Jeremiah Masoli got off to a strong start.

It quickly became apparent that Montreal coach Mike Sherman intended to get Manziel onto the field as quickly as possible, with his team struggling to a 1-5 start in the Canadian Football League.

"We didn't trade for Johnny to have him sit on the bench. Obviously, he's come here to get reps; to become the best player he can become. We started that process today," Sherman said Monday.

"You've all probably figured it out yourselves. At the same time, when you have two players (fairly equal), you probably wait until game time to make that announcement. It doesn't make sense to do it any sooner."

Montreal has burned through four quarterbacks already this season, with Drew Willy, Matt Shiltz and Jeff Mathews all getting injured — the Alouettes' offensive line has allowed 23 sacks through six games — and Vernon Adams Jr. was mostly ineffective Thursday in a 44-23 home loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.

During the game, fans chanted "Johnny! Johnny! Johnny!" and "We want Johnny!" Some of them already had purchased Manziel jerseys.