Johnny Manziel will face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who traded the quarterback on July 22 for a package that included two first-round draft choices. He didn’t play in the Alouettes’ game last Thursday, their first game after the trade.

“It’s good to be back in here,” Manziel said. “I felt like the thing I’ve been missing, even over the course of this year and a couple years, is reps. And as you guys have seen the last couple days, a chance to get with the 1s and get some reps is what I feel like I really need and what I’ve talked to a lot of people about.

Manziel said he didn’t know until a few moments before Tuesday’s news conference that he would get the start.

He played in two preseason games for the Tiger-Cats, as well as parts of two games for the Spring League in April. But Friday night’s game will be his most substantial football outing since the Cleveland Browns released him following the 2015 season.

Asked how he feels in the Alouettes’ offense so far, Manziel said that he’s “getting there.”

“I think there’s some good things; there’s some good flashes,” he said. “Football’s a game of inches and little things and little mishaps that can make a play go awry. So we’re just trying to clean up the little detail things that I think we’re missing here that we’ll get on top of and hopefully be able to go out and perform. But I’m still learning it as we go, and I feel fortunate enough to be going against a defense that I’ve seen more than any other defense since I’ve been in the CFL.”

The very fact that Johnny Manziel is getting this much attention playing in the CFL just goes to show you the guy has something special. I think everyone would love to see him get to the NFL again, and then maybe, have one more fall from grace. It’s more fun that way.