Martavis Bryant cleared to practice, play in preseason Martavis Bryant has reached the next stage in his bid to return to NFL game action. The Steelers wide receiver has been informed by the NFL that he is now permitted to participate in all preseason activities, including practices and games, general manager Kevin Colbert said Wednesday in a statement released by the team. "He will continue to be evaluated as to his readiness to participate in regular-season activities under the terms of his conditional reinstatement," the statement continued. Bryant was conditionally reinstated in April after missing the entire 2016 season due to a violation of the league's policy on substances of abuse. In order to gain full reinstatement for the regular season, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, Bryant must continue to attend mandatory counseling sessions. As long as Bryant cooperates over the next month, the Steelers' offense should rival the Patriots' as the AFC's most unstoppable unit. "He looks like a stud, as usual," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said of Bryant in June, "so we're excited for him to be on the field this year and help us out." Since Bryant entered the league in 2014, Pittsburgh has scored 30 or more points in roughly half of the games he has played. Without Bryant in the lineup, that percentage is closer to 30 percent. For all of the league's marquee additions in free agency and the draft, Bryant's potential return from suspension might just have the biggest impact of any single skill-position talent. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...-bryant-cleared-to-practice-play-in-preseason
He's not "fully reinstated" yet. Still has to steps to clear prior to start of regular season. He gets re-evaluated by the league at the end of this month.
Once he is fully reinstated does he have any ongoing responsibilities to the league (meetings to attend, tests to take, etc.)?
I believe no more than any other player in the drug program. I believe he'll have more tests than any player not named James Harrison. He might have to prove he is using the resources, although that's probably just his responsibility and if he fails another test he's done...
Thanks for the info. On one hand that's good, on the other I worry about a Martavis without the added structure.
My understanding is that he still needs to follow through with counselling and drug treatments until he's been upgraded from his current stage of the drug program. He will also still be subject to up to 3 random drug tests per week, so I think structure is certainly a part of his near future! Haha.
Three randoms a week huh? That's definitely extensive. As far as counseling, this kid needs to never quit going to one. Hopefully, even after the requirement ends he is smart enough to keep going.
World's worst throw starring Dobbs. He is no Kizer (who I wanted as you all know). Did you happen to catch Kizer last night? Outstanding. Cannot fault our brass though....would've had to have passed on Watt and nabbed Kizer in round 1.
I have to admit Kizer looked good, albeit against 2s and 3s. Damn good arm. I only saw his highlights, but those two deep balls were pretty impressive. The best rookie Qb I've seen this week has been Trubisky though. Liked what he showed against the Broncos, again against backups. Wasn't overly impressed with Watson...He wasn't horrible, just overhyped I feel. Granted I didn't watch long, but I felt he had no touch on his passes. His scramble for a TD was nice though.
Definitely not impressed with Dobbs either....was hoping for more. I know he doesn't have all the weapons, but he is having a very rough start.
Weird, all that Kizer discussion above I thought I was posting in the Preseason game 1 thread but I guess I accidentally posted it here. I suck at multi-tasking (was eating dinner in restaurant while watching game with family while posting it). Unless Steelers had traded up in 2nd round, they'd have had to pass on Watt in first round to get Kizer....I said for months I loved the guy and still do but even I can't fault them for taking Watt in first round. Although I believe in Kizer enough that there were first round scenarios in which I would've taken him.
You can't take a first rounder that you aren't going to play for 3-4 years, not when you have needs elsewhere on the perceived weakness of your team (secondary, pass rush). If Watt pans out as advertised and we have a formidable OLB duo for years in Dupree/Watt, it will go a long way in improving both of those areas of our defense. We've seldom had truly outstanding secondaries with multiple stud corners/safeties............but our defenses have always been at their best with great front-sevens, with studs at NT and OLB. We looks to have the makings of that again long term now, with additional playmakers at both DE positions (Heyward/Tuitt) and ILB (Shazier). The reason I say 3-4 years is that Kizer likely wouldn't be in a position to start until 2020. Ben can talk retirement possibilities all he wants, he isn't going anywhere unless he sustains a serious injury (ala Theismann), he will play out his contract thru 2019 and possibly stick around another year if things look good organizationally and they are in a position to compete. I don't think for one second he's going to retire with his OL basically in tact thru 2019 (minus Foster) and give back 6.4 or 12.8 million to the organization. He wants credit for 4 Lombardis, and has said several times that's about the only thing he really wants when he's finished playing.
Oh yeah, I know. I agree 100%. It will be interesting though to see how Kizer pans out and also who we ultimately end up with hopefully a long ways down the road still when Big Ben retires.
I think post-Ben, depending on who they retain and can stay healthy for the next few years, they will look to free agency for a stop-gap. They SHOULD be pretty loaded as a roster from a talent standpoint, even at the point Ben hangs it up............assuming that is 2-3 years from now. They may only NEED a "game manager" that limits mistakes for a few years, likely drafting a QB every year. Hopefully the gap between true "franchise" QBs taken isn't as long as the previous one (Bradshaw-Ben). You can't compete for championships and have any long term success in today's NFL without solid/consistent QB play. That position today is about making plays, regardless of what's in front of you and around you. Its hard to keep the rest of your roster in tact with a hard cap and giving your QB top dollar.....unless you're doing well in most drafts so you can pick/choose whom you retain for big bucks with little drop off.
