AAF Co-Founder Bill Polian on Johnny Manziel: We Put out 'Feelers' for QB

The Alliance of American Football has reached out to the camp of 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.

Bill Polian, former Indianapolis Colts general manager and a co-founder of the AAF, provided an update Wednesday, per CBSSports.com's Ben Kercheval:

"We had feelers out to people close to him. We're in the process of going through due diligence. I would say it's 50 percent done. We don't intend to comment on anything on Johnny personally for reasons that are legally obvious."

Manziel most recently played for the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL. The Alouettes announced Feb. 27 they had released Manziel because he "contravened the agreement which made him eligible to play in the league."

Montreal added that another CFL team would be unable to sign Manziel since the league wouldn't formally recognize any contract.

In eight games for the Alouettes, Manziel threw for 1,290 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 215 yards on 29 carries.

Considering he hasn't appeared in an NFL regular-season game since the 2015 season, a return is a bridge too far as he ponders the next step in his football career.

As a result, the AAF would be a logical landing spot. The league is clearly trying to draw attention in its inaugural year. According to The Athletic's Lindsay Jones, Polian spoke with Tim Tebow to gauge his interest, while AAF CEO Charlie Ebersol did the same with Colin Kaepernick.

If negotiations between Manziel and the AAF fall apart, the former Texas A&M star would have one last option to exhaust. The XFL is set to launch Feb. 8, 2020.