It appears Johnny Manziel will not be guaranteed snaps when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats open their season against the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday night.

Tiger-Cats head coach June Jones said Monday the team will not have a special package for Manziel to enter the game on Saturday night, meaning he will simply occupy the backup role behind Jeremiah Masoli.

Manziel is coming off a strong showing in the preseason, completing 12 of 20 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown on Friday against the Montreal Alouettes. He completed nine of 11 passes for 80 yards in his first preseason game, against the Toronto Argonauts. He added 29 yards on six attempts rushing over the preseason.

"By no means is it perfect, or close to perfect, but there are some flashes, things I know and feel comfortable with," said Manziel said after his second preseason contest. "There are things that I should hit on the field that I missed today. That's just part of trying to get better and get back in a feel of playing ball every day, week in and week out.

"Any time I'm getting in and getting reps, and getting a chance to take live reps like today, that's a positive day."

Masoli, who took over as the Tiger-Cats starter from Zach Collaros last season, played in only the first preseason game, completing eight of 13 passes for 115 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Junes said on Friday Manziel still has rust to shake off, having not played a regulation snap, excluding the two-week Spring League season, since 2015.

"You saw him out there, he's still a little rusty," Jones said. "But he's a competitor, he knows what's going on, he's seeing what's going on. He's able to execute real quickly. You guys can see what he can do. He can make a difference.

"I think he's going to be a very good player in this league."