Report: Raiders Fearful WR Martavis Bryant May Be Facing Another Suspension
When it comes to an outlaw image, no team in football — indeed, no team in all of North American sports — embodies that image more than the Oakland Raiders.
Unfortunately, when you cultivate an outlaw image, the league tends to notice when your players are outlaws, and the Raiders’ future home in Sin City has been on the beat reporting about Las Vegas’ newest sporting enterprise.
All this is by way of saying that a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal says that Raiders wideout Martavis Bryant may be facing yet another suspension under the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Bryant, who missed all of 2016 as a result of various violations of the policy, is in jeopardy on an as-yet-unknown infraction, according to sources with the team.
“Multiple team officials declined comment as they left for a weekslong break before training camp, but they acknowledged the club is awaiting final word on the situation,” the Review-Journal reported Thursday.
This might not be a failed drug test; even failing to show up for a test can be entered into the record as an automatic failure, like a drunken driver refusing a Breathalyzer.
If indeed Bryant is disciplined, he might end up missing an entire season for already the second time in a career that only dates back to 2014, when the Steelers drafted him in the fourth round out of Clemson.
The Raiders traded a third-round pick in the 2018 draft to acquire Bryant, who was expected to be an impact player catching passes from Derek Carr.
Oakland went 6-10 last year despite solid seasons from Carr (3,496 passing yards and an 86.4 passer rating) and Marshawn Lynch (891 yards on 207 carries on the ground for a respectable 4.3 yards per attempt).
Bryant, when he came to Oakland, hoped to make a fresh start in staying off drugs.
“Just by handling my business as a man,” Bryant said on April 27, a day after the trade. “It’s not my first rodeo. I’ve had my difficulties in my past, but I’ve come a long way from that. It’s all about keeping the right resources around me and continuing to stay on the right path. I’m going to make sure I get that done.”
Bryant looked good in spring minicamp, getting good separation against Oakland’s secondary in drills.
Granted, receivers getting separation against their defense is part of why the Raiders went 6-10; they were 23rd out of the 32 NFL teams in defensive yards and 20th in points allowed while the offense, hampered by poor line play and minimal depth below Carr and Lynch, sputtered to 17th in yards and 23rd in points scored; the average score of a Raiders game last season was 23.3 to 18.8 in favor of the opponent.
Coach Jon Gruden was — well, maybe “high on” isn’t the right phrase under the circumstances — optimistic about having a big, fast receiver to add to his offensive game plan.
“I’ve seen the Steelers practice in my previous position,” Gruden said April 27. “The man knows how to practice. The guy knows how to prepare. He’s been through a lot in his life, and he’s got something to prove, and I think we’re catching him at the right time. (Steelers coach) Mike Tomlin is a friend of mine. I coached with Mike, and I got a lot of confidence in this young man.
“I think a change of scenery can unleash his greatness. Putting him in the lineup with Jordy Nelson and Amari Cooper and Jared Cook and Derek Carr excites me a lot.”
If the Raiders’ prized acquisition ends up missing the whole season due to substance abuse, the situation could go from getting a stud athlete on his rookie contract for nothing more than a third-round pick to throwing away a perfectly good draft choice on a guy who ends up out of football when nobody wants to pay him veteran free-agent money after he missed two full seasons because of drugs.
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