Former Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders wide receiver Martavis Bryant might be making his long-awaited return to the NFL in the coming days. The former fourth-round pick hasn’t played in the NFL since 2018, but NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that Roger Goodell has reinstated Bryant, and that he’s drawn some interest from multiple teams across the league. Bryant has struggled with substance abuse issues and will have definitely slowed down seeing as he’s now 31, but these five teams should be willing to kick the tires and see if he has anything left.
Veteran WR Martavis Bryant, who last played in the NFL in 2018, has been reinstated by Commissioner Roger Goodell and is drawing interest from teams, per his agent James Peterson.
Bryant, 31, has been training for a comeback and played in the XFL last summer. pic.twitter.com/2jDHNCiN6e
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 4, 2023
5 Teams That Could Sign Martavis Bryant
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs might just have the worst wide receivers of any major competitor. While Travis Kelce remains great, the rest of the pass-catching options leave a lot to be desired. Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore look like busts, Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a one-trick pony, and while Rashee Rice has shown plenty of promise, he’s just a rookie and not ready to be the focal point of a passing attack. Kansas City needs another reliable weapon, and Martavis Bryant might just be the best fit for this team. With the trade deadline passed, he is arguably the top free agent wide receiver on the market.
Buffalo Bills
Stefon Diggs is an amazing wide receiver, and rookie first-round pick Dalton Kincaid has shown some signs of life over the past few weeks. However, you never want to put too much pressure on a rookie tight end, and Buffalo could use another depth option. Gabriel Davis is better off in small doses, and adding Martavis Bryant to the mix would be a good way to diversify Buffalo’s offense while making sure no singular player (outside of Diggs) is overworked.
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys passing attack lives and dies with CeeDee Lamb. The former first-round pick is a true WR1, but the Cowboys have failed to provide an adequate secondary option. Age appears to have caught up to Brandin Cooks, and Michael Gallup still looks like a shell of himself following his late-season ACL tear back in 2021. The present-day version of Martavis Bryant probably isn’t good enough to start on this offense, but he can provide another reliable set of hands. When you share a division with the Philadelphia Eagles, you need as many competent wide receivers as you can get, and Bryant might be enough to help this team finally make it out of the divisional round of the playoffs.
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens spent the majority of their offseason trying to improve their wide receiver position. So far, all those efforts have produced mixed results. Rookie Zay Flowers is living up to his draft billing, but Odell Beckham and Rashod Bateman have not been anything special. This team needs to find somebody reliable, and while Martavis Bryant is anything but a sure bet, they should consider rolling the dice on their former division rival. After all, this team has a great defense, but you need offensive firepower to get past the elite offenses of the AFC.
Los Angeles Chargers
Mike Williams is done for the season, Joshua Palmer is battling injury, and Quentin Johnston is nowhere to be found. Justin Herbert is a superstar, but he can’t singlehandedly overcome poor wide receivers, bad defense, and even worse coaching. Head coach Brandon Staley needs Los Angeles to go on a deep playoff run if he wants to keep his job, and this will go exactly as far as Herbert can bring them. With so many injuries at wide receiver, the Chargers need to consider investing in Martavis Bryant. At 6′-4″ and 210 pounds, he is the ideal size for this offense.
Main Photo: Mark Hoffman – USA Today Sports
