At least for a little while, it was a heartwarming tale of redemption. Since his incapacity to manage his substance addiction issues led to a suspension, Martavis Bryant had been out of the NFL for five years.
However, the NFL restored him in September, and in November, he signed a contract to join the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. But he never returned to the field, and the Cowboys cut him early this month.
For those hoping that the 32-year-old Bryant would successfully complete his comeback, it was a disappointment. However, things took a turn for the better last week when Bryant signed a Reserve/Future contract, which means he will return to the Cowboys for training camp, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
From Gehlken’s Twitter/X account: “WR Martavis Bryant left a significant impression on the Cowboys. According to a person with knowledge of the issue, he is anticipated to sign a Reserve/Future contract on Wednesday. Before the organization released Bryant on January 4 due to a shortage of players, he was on the practice squad for several weeks.
8 TDs as a Rookie, Then the Suspensions Began
Bryant talked about his desire to rejoin the NFL following his fall from grace in December 2018, when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ultimately suspended him indefinitely, when he arrived in Dallas in November. Prior to that, he had a history of drug abuse-related suspensions, including ones that lasted the whole 2016 season while he was in Pittsburgh.
In order for Bryant to rejoin the NFL, he had to first decide whether or not he wanted to return to football and then work on his sobriety.
As he put it in November, “I went through a lot in those years I didn’t play ball, you know.” “I was getting down on myself and wanted to give up on football, but I eventually had to face my own demons, look in the mirror, and pull myself together.”
Cowboys’ Martavis Bryant Went to ‘Dark Places’
When asked where the five years of suspension had taken him, Bryant responded.
“To some really dark places and times, man, some places you can’t even imagine,” he remarked. You know, I really don’t want to talk about it because I had to put in a lot of effort to get through those times. But for me, it was a difficult period.
There was more hard work to be done once he sobrietized. Bryant returned to football form in the Arena League and the XFL, two minor leagues that fell short of the NFL. Bryant then needed to get permission from Roger Goodell’s NFL administration to make a return. That meant focusing on his recovery and attending a ton of meetings.
“I had a process I had to go through, steps I had to do, maintaining my sobriety,” Bryant explained. “Meeting with my counselor. Doing the things I was supposed to do to show that I changed. I put the work in, man, and I’m proud of that. First off, it started with the NFL, I had to go through six months of testing, you know, counselors, doing a lot of things they asked me to do.”
But he got back to the league, if only on the Cowboys practice squad. This summer, though, Bryant will have a chance to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
