Reinstatement is only half the process before Martavis Bryant returns to the Steelers
PITTSBURGH 无毛视频� The long and potentially arduous process of Martavis Bryant无毛视频檚 return to the Steelers has only just begun. Getting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to reinstate Bryant is one step. But it will not be the last.
Following that, and just as importantly, Bryant will have to win back the trust of his coaches and teammates, most notably his quarterback.
That should not be a problem, according to Bryant无毛视频檚 agent.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 in a good place mentally,无毛视频� Brian Fettner said on Monday. 无毛视频淗e doesn无毛视频檛 smoke anymore. There is going to be no more drama.无毛视频�
That无毛视频檒l be welcome news to the Steelers, who might have been playing for a Super Bowl had Bryant not been serving a one-year suspension for multiple violations of the league无毛视频檚 substance abuse policy.
Since coming to Pittsburgh in 2014, Bryant has provided as much drama off the field as on it. He has electrified with a remarkable mix of size and speed, scoring a remarkable 16 touchdowns in just 24 games and averaging 17.3 yards per catch, but Bryant无毛视频檚 very real human foibles have nearly derailed his star-crossed career.
Bringing back the star receiver for 2017 is a high-risk, high-reward proposition for the Steelers.
Bryant, who is still under contract for two more years, is just another failed or missed test away from possible banishment. Asked about Bryant无毛视频檚 future in Pittsburgh during his season-ending press conference last week, coach Mike Tomlin said he was in 无毛视频渨ait-and-see mode.无毛视频�
Though he无毛视频檚 been barred from the Steelers practice facility during his suspension, Bryant has kept in routine contact with his teammates. 无毛视频淗e definitely isn无毛视频檛 AWOL from his boys,无毛视频� Fettner said.
In September, veteran center Maurkice Pouncey said that, if reinstated, his teammates would welcome Bryant back with open arms.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a brother, we无毛视频檙e not going to leave that guy hanging,无毛视频� Pouncey said. 无毛视频淓veryone in life, and I无毛视频檓 living testament of it, everyone makes mistakes and you grow from them. It doesn无毛视频檛 make you a bad person, it makes you a better person, if you learn from it in the right way. If you keep making the same mistakes over and over again, you have to check yourself. But at the end of the day, you can无毛视频檛 leave a man like that. He needs us. He无毛视频檚 our brother.无毛视频�
Patching his relationship with Ben Roethlisberger might prove a little trickier.
Roethlisberger, who said he considered Bryant 无毛视频渓ike a brother无毛视频� and kept in communication daily with his receiver when he served a four-game suspension to start the 2015 season, seemed personally disappointed by Bryant无毛视频檚 one-year ban.
无毛视频淟ooking me in my eye and denying everything, it无毛视频檚 tough,无毛视频� Roethlisberger said in July. 无毛视频淚t disappoints you as a man and a guy who cared so much about him.无毛视频�
Fettner said he wasn无毛视频檛 sure if Roethlisberger has been in contact with Bryant but in an interview with 无毛视频 Illustrated earlier this month, Bryant said of the quarterback: 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 a grown man and he无毛视频檚 a grown man. I无毛视频檓 not going up to another grown man and explain my business to him.无毛视频�
At the time of his suspension last March, Fettner suggested that Bryant may have been suffering from depression, calling his client无毛视频檚 repeated failed tests 无毛视频渢he biggest cry for help I无毛视频檝e ever seen.无毛视频�
Citing legal reasons, Fettner declined to get into the specifics of his client无毛视频檚 mental health on Monday, saying only: 无毛视频淧layers are people too. He faces the same things that all of us do except that you put on pads and go out and play.无毛视频�
Fettner says Bryant, who is expecting the birth of his third child, a son, to be born in a few weeks, is as happy as he无毛视频檚 ever seen the 25-year-old. He is excited at the prospect of rejoining his teammates and resuming his career. Despite his personal troubles, Bryant is still a good person and worthy of redemption, according to his agent.
无毛视频淭o be honest, he无毛视频檚 way more grounded than people would think he is,无毛视频� Fettner said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 not at the club, he无毛视频檚 not punching his girlfriend. He无毛视频檚 never been arrested in his life. This isn无毛视频檛 public enemy No. 1 over here.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a shy guy. He无毛视频檚 a very 无毛视频榶es, sir无毛视频� or 无毛视频榥o, sir无毛视频� guy. This isn无毛视频檛 like 无毛视频極h my God, he needs to go through behavioral, anger management kind of thing.无毛视频�
Bryant无毛视频檚 only crime, he says, is smoking marijuana, a recreational drug that is decriminalized in 21 states.
The league has 60 days to review Bryant无毛视频檚 case and render a decision, though it has been known to take longer. Fettner is hopeful that a resolution will be reached by April and that Bryant can begin the NFL无毛视频檚 off-season workout program in Pittsburgh with his teammates.
After moving from Los Angeles to Nevada at his agent无毛视频檚 behest, Bryant has spent his time volunteering as a high school football coach in suburban Las Vegas. If, and when he does return to the Steelers, Fettner says he无毛视频檚 already in great shape.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 going to be back and he无毛视频檚 going to be great,无毛视频� Fettner said.