Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant reportedly is staring down an indefinite suspension with the NFL, and he's planning to check into rehab to undergo evaluation for depression, according to USA Today.
Bryant reportedly has missed multiple drug tests and thus is up for a ban of at least a year from the NFL based on the league's policy on banned substances. He served a four-game suspension to start last season for a positive drug test for marijuana, and his appeal for that was denied.
The question of Bryant's status with the league remains in doubt while he and his representation investigate their appeal options. But his status with the Steelers also is very much in doubt. He might have played his final game with the team, which has to be incredibly frustrated with his latest turn on a problem they've known about since before he ever played a snap in the NFL.
Players are randomly tested in the offseason, and Bryant has repeatedly tested positive despite strong support from within the Steelers organization. You have to now wonder whether that support fades and if Bryant still has many Steelers people in his corner.
Bryant slipped to the fourth round of the 2014 draft despite possessing incredible physical ability. The reason? Character red flags galore coming out of Clemson. The Steelers kept Bryant on a short leash early in his career and actually kept him off the field his first six games.
That's when his incredible talent took over, and it appeared the Steelers hit a home run with the pick as he exploded for 26 catches for 549 yards (21.1 yards per catch) and eight TDs over those final 10 games.Everyone predicted stardom, and when he has played Bryant has been excellent. In 21 regular-season games, Bryant has 76 receptions for 1,314 yards and 14 touchdowns. And in three playoff games, he has added another 19 catches for 244 yards and two TDs.
But Bryant apparently has not been able to choose football over marijuana.
“We’re all stunned, me included,” Bryant's agent, Brian Fettner told USA Today. “We clearly miscalculated the issue. His isn’t a party issue. It’s a coping issue and a depression issue, and he’s got to take care of it.”
Fettner added:
“This is the biggest cry for help I’ve ever seen. And that hurts. It hurts us to see,” Fettner said. “He’s 24 years old and he’s got to get right, whatever it is. If you talk to anybody’s family that has depression, they will be talking about these same things — the [despondence], the withdrawal, the head-in-the-sand despair — just trying to cope.”
One notable aspect of this report is the question of whether Bryant's latest positive test affected his play. The original report, from DKPittsburghSports.com, suggested that it occurred late in the season. Bryant was a non-factor in the Steelers final two regular-season games and in the playoff victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, catching a combined seven passes for 35 yards and being called out by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Although Bryant recovered in the playoff loss to the Denver Broncos to catch nine passes for 154 yards, it's fair to wonder how much the potential suspension weighed on a player whose agent now fears his client is suffering from depression.
Is Bryant done in Pittsburgh? Do the Steelers still feel they can count on him? Will rehab change things for him?
These questions are legitimate and likely will play out over the coming weeks and months. But for now, it's a big blow to a team that feels it has real Super Bowl aspirations with an offense that, when at full strength, can be matched by few NFL teams.
No comments:
Post a Comment