{"id":26882,"date":"2017-08-10T01:43:18","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T05:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=26882"},"modified":"2021-03-18T19:04:36","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T23:04:36","slug":"martavis-bryant-reinstated-nfl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2017\/08\/10\/martavis-bryant-reinstated-nfl\/","title":{"rendered":"Martavis Bryant Reinstated by NFL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/steelers\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> wide receiver <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BryaMa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Martavis Bryant<\/a><\/strong> has officially been reinstated by NFL. This comes after missing the entire 2016 season for violating the league\u2019s substance abuse policy. Bryant has been a play-maker in the Steelers offense since being drafted out of Clemson in 2014.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Per <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/steelers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@steelers<\/a> GM Kevin Colbert: WR Martavis Bryant has been informed by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NFL<\/a> he is now permitted to participate in all preseason activities.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RapSheet\/status\/895420101121331202?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 9, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h1><strong>Martavis Bryant Reinstated by NFL<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>In his rookie season, Bryant burst onto the scene by leading all eligible receivers with 21.1 yards per reception. He was named Steelers rookie of the year after the 2014 campaign. 2015 started with Bryant being suspended four games for violating the NFL\u2019s substance abuse policy. But Bryant was still able to be a major contributor to the offense. He finished 2015 with 50 receptions for 765 yards and six touchdowns. His combination of size and speed make him a true deep threat that any defense has to respect. He\u2019s the first player in 77 years to have two receptions of over 88 yards in his first two seasons in the NFL. <strong>Gus Tinsley<\/strong> of the Chicago Cardinals was the last person to do so in 1937 and 1938.<\/p>\n<p>The Pittsburgh Steelers did not list Bryant in their initial offensive depth chart of the 2017 season. Since he last suited up, the Steelers have stocked up on receivers, drafting <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/C\/CoatSa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sammie Coates<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2017\/03\/01\/juju-smith-schuster-2017-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>JuJu Smith-Schuster<\/strong><\/a> in consecutive years and signing free-agent <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/H\/HuntJu00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justin Hunter<\/a><\/strong> in the off-season. But this seems like an ideal time for Bryant to make his comeback. Second-year receivers Coates and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/A\/AyerDe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Demarcus Ayers<\/a><\/strong> are both sidelined with injuries.<\/p>\n<p>Also, journeyman receiver <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/H\/HamiCo00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cobi Hamilton<\/a><\/strong> who turned into a late season contributor last year is listed fourth\u00a0string. Essentially, he would be cut if the Steelers had to trim their roster to 53 men at the moment. Right now, special teams ace <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/H\/HeywDa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darrius Heyward-Bey<\/a><\/strong> is listed as WR2 across from Pro Bowler <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=BrowAn04,BrowAn01&amp;search=Antonio+Brown&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Antonio Brown<\/a><\/strong> on the Steelers depth chart. That will change by the start of the season, Heyward-Bey is entering his ninth\u00a0season, did not start one game at wide receiver last season, and was only targeted 19 times all year.<\/p>\n<p>Bryant\u2019s contract is up after the season so, granted he makes the team, and can stay on the field (he has missed 30 of the 54 Steelers games that have been played since 2014) he will be playing to determine his worth when contract negotiations begin. Whether that\u2019s with the Steelers or Bryant tests free agency will most likely be determined by his off-the-field actions throughout the year. Entering 2017, Bryant is playing on the last year of his rookie contract. He will make $615,000 in base salary and an additional $109,805 signing bonus. Only time will tell if Bryant has changed his ways. But if any off the field issues did resurface with Bryant the Steelers could cut him and only take a $109,805 dead money hit to the salary cap.<\/p>\n<h3>My Take<\/h3>\n<p>The Steelers have made it clear that Bryant will not just be handed back his starting position. Last year\u2019s emergence of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/R\/RogeEl00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eli Rogers<\/a><\/strong>, the strong showing that Hunter has had throughout training camp and the progress of Smith-Schuster are just a few of the hurdles Bryant must overcome to get his starting position back. Hunter is an especially intriguing prospect. While he hasn\u2019t had the on-field production of Bryant, they are similar receivers. Both Hunter and Bryant are around 6\u20194\u201d tall and both can run a 4.3 40-yard dash.<\/p>\n<p>It will be interesting if the Steelers decide to keep six wide receivers on the roster instead of the normal five. Uncertainty and injuries surround one of the deepest wide receiver corps in the league. Luckily, the Steelers have all preseason to see how Bryant stacks up to the rest of the wide receiver corps as well as gauging his growth off the field. Will Bryant show the Steelers that he&#8217;s worth another contract? Nobody has the answer, yet. But there\u2019s no doubt that this season will define Bryant\u2019s career.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"NsP3-MOtSghsIEdwm-Q-Ag\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/504355124\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'NsP3-MOtSghsIEdwm-Q-Ag',sig:'03cZxcJzPa5my-XhbXuJYOX5ZPU4mHfJHrKvu_Q0PqM=',w:'594px',h:'403px',items:'504355124',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert announced Wednesday that troubled wide receiver Martavis Bryant was reinstated by the NFL. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1727,"featured_media":26889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,36],"tags":[246],"class_list":["post-26882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-steelers","category-nfl-news","tag-nfl-news"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1727"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}