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The Montreal Alouettes had to do something. 

At 1-4, with just 69 points scored in five games this season, losers of 15 of 16 contests dating back to last season and with no apparent answer at quarterback, they really didn’t have a choice. 

In a few weeks their season would be lost, presumably general manager Kavis Reed would be held accountable and, well, it was going to be awfully messy picking up the pieces missing the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, no closer to an answer at quarterback than the day Anthony Calvillo retired. 

Not surprisingly, crowds in Montreal are the lowest they’ve been since the team’s move to Percival Molson Stadium more than 20 years ago, so dropping a big name on the roster wouldn’t hurt either. 

Enter Johnny Manziel, the former Heisman Trophy winner whose signing in Hamilton this spring made headlines around the sports world but who’d been stuck in backup duty with the Tiger-Cats behind Jeremiah Masoli. 

It’s certainly easy to understand why Reed went back to Hamilton one more time after failing to consummate a deal for Manziel when the Alouettes and Tiger-Cats engaged in off-and-on talks dating back to last fall. 

Reed’s willingness to enter this season without a proven answer at quarterback had proved faulty and the options midway through the season were limited. 

In acquiring Manziel, the Als make a high-risk move that costs them big pieces of their present as well as their future. But at least they’ve got a shot, which is more than could be said for them before 6 p.m. on Sunday night. 

In dealing their first-round pick in both 2020 and 2021 to Hamilton, the next time the Als select in the first round of the CFL draft they could be picking alongside a Halifax expansion franchise, having already spent their 2019 first rounder in the recent supplemental draft. 

But these are undoubtedly desperate times in La Belle Province. 

And if this doesn’t work? Well, it’s not as if what they were doing was working anyway. 

Meanwhile, the Tiger-Cats add four assets, two of which should have immediate impact on the field in receiver Chris Williams and Canadian defensive end Jamaal Westerman. 

They part with a pair of offensive linemen whom they deem replaceable and add a pair of picks for the future.

And they rid themselves of a potential quarterback controversy that was inevitably going to surface at some point. 

While there’s no suggestion that Manziel forced this trade, a Tweet from his agent on Sunday endorsing the move left no doubt about the 25-year-old former NFLer welcoming this move and the chance to get on the field. 

And why wouldn’t he? Manziel played the role of a good teammate his entire time in Hamilton but he didn’t come to the CFL to sit on the bench. He came to try to get himself back to the National Football League as soon as possible and you can’t do that with a clipboard in your hands. 

The most curious part of this whole narrative is Manziel departing Hamilton without ever playing a snap in the regular season. What this means is that he remains a complete mystery in terms of what he can do on a CFL field. 

Last fall, Hamilton head coach June Jones said Manziel could be the best quarterback to ever play in the CFL and as recently as a few weeks ago stated he ought to be in the NFL. 

The fact that Jones never put him on the field during the regular season and that Hamilton was willing to trade him is going to make some people wonder if Manziel was all-in behind the scenes, whether any of the issues with his commitment to his craft that were present in Cleveland had surfaced in Hamilton. 

If that’s the case, presumably it’s going to show itself in Montreal. And if it isn't, then Montreal has likely made a very shrewd move, the high cost aside. 

The Ticats certainly had doubts about just how long Manziel would remain in the CFL and whether by the end of 2019 he could bolt to the new Alliance of American Football league even if the NFL isn’t calling. 

And since contractually it would have been difficult to have both Manziel and Masoli back next season, Hamilton opted to sell high, moving him to a team that is hoping their season can be saved by the former first-round pick of the Browns and one that’s willing to give him the opportunity to potentially get back to the NFL. 

It’s a bold move on both sides. 

And one that only adds intrigue to the narrative that is Johnny Football.