With NFL Week 14 behind us, the Dallas Cowboys are doing just fine on the wide receiver depth chart, thanks to some good fortune and a lot of patience. CeeDee Lamb has been the team’s star leading man, Brandin Cooks has found his footing as the No. 2, and the team is content with Michael Gallup or Jalbert Tolbert as the No. 3. Martavis Bryant, the Cowboys’ midseason signing, has not been activated from the practice squad because he has not been needed.
But, with Bryant back in the NFL for a month after the commissioner lifted his suspension, a desperate outside team could make a move for him.
According to Bleacher Report, an AFC playoff possibility may be keeping an eye on Bryant. The site is urging the Chargers to sign Martavis Bryant off the Cowboys’ practice squad, as they try to overcome impossible odds and sneak into the postseason with a 5-8 record.
Bryant, Martavis A ‘Desperation Move’
Martavis Bryant, a Cowboys player, will turn 32 this week and has not played in an NFL game in five years. However, this demonstrates how desperate the Chargers are.
“Wideouts Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer have been sorely missed by the Chargers this season.” Keenan Allen has been outstanding, but rookie Quentin Johnston is still developing, and the depth behind them is lacking.
“The Chargers can afford to make a desperate move at this point.” Martavis Bryant hasn’t played since 2018, but the 6’4′′, 210-pound vertical threat remains on the Cowboys practice squad and might be worth a look.”
Bryant was a game-changing wideout at his best. In his first two seasons in Pittsburgh after being drafted in the fourth round out of Clemson, he caught 76 passes and scored 14 touchdowns, including plays of 94 and 88 yards.
But he struggled to stay away from substance abuse, and the league finally gave him an indefinite suspension in 2018, while he was playing for the Raiders.
Before Cowboys, there were’really dark places.’
Martavis Bryant was asked where his suspension had taken him in the previous five years when he first arrived with the Cowboys last month.
“To places you can’t even imagine, man, some really dark places and times,” he went on to say. “I really don’t want to talk about it because I worked so hard to get through those moments.” But it was a difficult time for me.”
But he worked hard to stay sober and toil in low-level leagues that were not NFL-caliber—the Arena League and the XFL. His Arena League experience was brief. He didn’t like the fact that as a receiver, you could run into a wall if you went out of bounds.
“I started in the Arena Football League, which was new to me. “I ran into a wall and had to give up; I was like, I can’t do this,” he explained.
Bryant said that after a stint in the XFL, he had to clear a path back to the NFL through Roger Goodell’s office. This entailed a slew of meetings, as well as an emphasis on his sobriety. But he did it.
“I had a process I had to go through, steps I had to do, maintaining my sobriety,” Bryant said. “I’m having a meeting with my counselor.” I was doing the things I was supposed to do to demonstrate that I had changed. I worked hard, man, and I’m proud of it. To begin with, I had to go through six months of testing, you know, counselors, and doing a lot of things they asked me to do.”
Martavis Bryant’s next step would be to make the 53-man roster. If not with the Cowboys, then somewhere.
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