Johnny Manziel's comeback -- also known as #ComebackSZN -- hit an obstacle that even he knew was coming. With the CFL preseason over, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats began their 2018 regular season on Saturday night with a game against the Calgary Stampeders (quick aside: why are CFL team names so much cooler than NFL team names?). Manziel, as expected all along, did not see the field during the game. Instead, he rode the bench with the incumbent, Jeremiah Masoli, earning the start.

Masoil went 25 of 36 for 344 yards and an interception, and rushed for a touchdown. It wasn't enough. The Tiger-Cats lost to the Stampeders, 28-14. Their next game -- and Manziel's next chance to see the field in a meaningful football game for the first time since the end of the 2015 NFL season -- will come on Friday against the Edmonton Eskimos.

Nobody should be surprised that Manziel found himself on the bench. Even though he looked solid during two preseason games, he only joined the team in mid-to-late May. Masoli, on the other hand, has now played in 28 games with the Tiger-Cats dating back to the 2013 season. When Manziel arrived, Tiger-Cats coach June Jones noted that he was "not all the way caught up where Jeremiah is."

So, Jones kept the game-script simple for Manziel in his preseason debut, which led to a decent, but unspectacular stat line: 9 of 12 for 80 yards and 10 rushing yards. In Manziel's second preseason outing, he finished 12 of 20 for 88 yards, throwing his first touchdown with his new team.

Now, Manziel waits for a real chance in a game that matters. It's not yet known when that opportunity will come, but the moments before it comes will likely be just as important as the opportunity itself. Manziel, of course, needs to prove to the Tiger-Cats and any NFL teams still vaguely interested in him that he can be a dependable teammate, player, and member of a community before he gets another shot in the NFL.

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The only reason Manziel, a Heisman Trophy winner and former first-round pick of the Browns, finds himself in the CFL is because he partied his way out of the NFL, looked lackluster on the field, and allegedly assaulted his then-girlfriend (the charges were dismissed after he reached a plea deal). Manziel, who opened up about bipolar disorder and his sobriety in February, started his comeback this spring and tried to make his way back into the NFL -- he even offered to play for free -- but nobody bit. So, he journeyed north of the border to Canada, where he'll try to prove that he's still a talented quarterback prospect and, even more importantly, that he can shoulder the responsibilities that come with being a professional quarterback. It'll likely be a long process, and Saturday night was just the beginning of it.

"We'll see how things go," Manziel said before the game, per the Associated Press. "Any backup or anybody on our depth chart is one play, two plays away from getting in the game. That's something I've learned over the course of the years and take very seriously."

He also said, "More than anything, I want a win for this team. It's more than me. It's more than just one individual. It's a team effort and it takes everybody we have on this roster to go out and win games."

Meanwhile, as Manziel tries to resurrect his career in Canada, the Cowboys signed guard Zack Martin to a record-setting $84 million contract with $40 million in guarantees, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Those two things might not appear to be related, but they're notable because the Cowboys had their eyes on both players during the 2014 NFL Draft.

Despite Jerry Jones' best efforts to draft Manziel, the Cowboys took the boring route by drafting Martin, and what a decision that ended up being. We'll have to wait and see if Jones can resist the temptation to bring in Manziel as a free agent in the years to come.