Veteran WR attempting comeback after being reinstated by NFL

Martavis Bryant is on the comeback trail. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the veteran receiver has been reinstated by Commissioner Roger Goodell and is drawing interest around the NFL.

Bryant hasn’t been rostered by an NFL team since the 2018 campaign when he got into eight games with the Raiders. The wide receiver made a name for himself in Pittsburgh, collecting 1,363 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns through his first two NFL seasons. He was suspended for the entirety of the 2016 season after violating the NFL’s drug policy, but he picked up where he left off in 2017, finishing with 625 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.

He was traded to the Raiders for a third-round pick during the 2018 offseason, and he proceeded to haul in 19 catches for 266 yards in eight games (two starts) with his new squad. He was later hit with an indefinite ban after violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement, and Bryant hasn’t been on an NFL team since that time.

Over the past few years, Bryant has had brief stints with a couple of Canadian Football League teams, and he was also drafted during the 2023 XFL Skill Players Draft. Earlier this year, he got into four games with the Fan Controlled Football League, collecting eight catches.

Bryant will be 32 in December and hasn’t played in an NFL game in several years, so he’ll be hard-pressed to find a roster spot before the season is done. Perhaps he could catch on with a practice squad with hopes of sticking around for the 2024 season.