I know many of you have been asking about Martavis Bryant’s trip to the Big Apple on Thursday. Sporting News’ Alex Marvez provides us with our first update.
According to his report, Bryant did not meet with Roger Goodell but the NFL’s Management Council. The council had some stipulations for Bryant before being considered for reinstatement.
“Among the conditions for being cleared to play again, Bryant was told to assemble a plan detailing safeguards that would help him prevent a relapse upon returning to Pittsburgh, the source said.”
Marvez would later go on to say that a meeting with Goodell still has to occur, that’s no surprise, before any official decision is made. It’s looking increasingly unlikely the Pittsburgh Steelers will have an answer to Bryant’s 2017 status before the draft, muddying up their plans and making life – to me, unfairly – more difficult on them. It would’ve been nice for the league to outline these requirements before this meeting, allowing Bryant to get back to the team as soon as possible and in time for offseason workouts.
Bryant applied for reinstatement in late January following his one year suspension, which in theory ended in March, but is still active because Goodell has not officially reinstated him.
Over the past several weeks, Bryant has posted videos of an intense training routine, getting his weight up, and welcoming the birth of another child into the family.
It would make sense for Bryant to be allowed back in, provided he hasn’t failed any drug test since. And for what it’s worth, Marvez’s article ends on an optimistic tone, saying Bryant should be back “soon enough.” Still, for now, the Steelers are forced to continue to operate in a grey area with the only safe assumption being that there’s no guarantee he’ll return.
