Johnny Manziel’s Emotional Tribute to Late Rondale Moore Helps Clear His Negative Image After No-Show Controversy
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
Johnny Manziel has been living under a cloud since December. The College GameDay no-show in College Station turned him into a punchline, and ESPN’s Reece Davis twisted the knife on his own podcast, diplomatically, but clearly. Manziel’s explanation didn’t fully stick. The narrative was running away from him. Then Rondale Moore died, and Manziel said something that stopped the scroll.
On Feb. 21, with the football world still processing the shock of losing a 25-year-old, Manziel took to Instagram. No excuses. No self-promotion. Just a man putting something real on the table, a call to check on your people, to pick up the phone, to believe that one conversation can pull someone back from the edge. Fans didn’t scroll past it.
They responded to the Rondale Moore tribute. And none of them came loaded.
“Love you johnny football! How are you doing bud?” wrote one fan, turning the care right back around on Manziel himself.
Another landed in the same place. “Hope your doing well Johnny.”
A third connected the dots out loud. “How are ya doing, brother? Sometimes that is all it takes to help someone out of a dark time.”
One fan said everything in three words. “Voice of experience.”
Another pulled it wider. “So true – you really don’t know what people are going through. Showing some grace more often sure would help this world.”
One went deep. “Darkness only stays dark for so long the light always comes even when it feels like there’s no hope.”
Another kept it tight. “Johnny football with a message.”
And the last one, simple as it gets. “love you Johnny.”
Eight reactions. No trolls. No GameDay receipts. Just people meeting a moment honestly.
Rondale Moore Left His Mark Long Before the NFL Ever Called
Moore’s road was never smooth. At Purdue, he was electric, racking up 114 catches for 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns in his freshman season alone, earning first-team All-American honors. The Arizona Cardinals grabbed him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Then the injuries started stacking. Atlanta. Minnesota. Knee after knee.
Jeff Brohm, his college coach, called him “a complete joy to coach” with “a work ethic unmatched by anyone.” The Vikings echoed that, humble, proud of his Indiana roots, respected in every locker room he entered.
Manziel never played with Moore. But he understood the weight of the moment. And for the first time in months, fans weren’t questioning his character; they were checking on his.
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