Pittsburgh Steelers team president Art Rooney II talked to the local media again on Friday and he discussed the current situation with suspended wide receiver Martavis Bryant quite extensively.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rooney indicated that the Steelers organization will help Bryant get the help and rehab he needs to the extent they are allowed moving forward.
“We’re disappointed and hope he can deal with the situation to have the discipline necessary to be player in the NFL,” Rooney reportedly said of Bryant.
Rooney also clarified Bryant’s contract situation in that his suspended year will not count against his overall status and that he will have two years remaining on his deal when he is ultimately reinstated. This matches what former agent Joel Corry told me last week when it comes to him saying that Bryant’s 2016 season will toll. Bryant’s salary will not count against the Steelers salary cap in 2016 and it is expected that his prorated bonus amount will more than likely be credited back to the Steelers in 2017 instead of this year.
Bryant, who was drafted by the Steelers in the fourth-round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Clemson, was suspended for the entire 2016 season by the league last week for again violating the substance abuse policy.
