Steelers still awaiting word from NFL on Bryant
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant (10) stands on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015 in Pittsburgh.
In this Aug. 21, 2014, file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Martavis Bryant reacts after a touchdown during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia. The Steelers still await word from the NFL about whether he will be reinstated by the NFL after sitting out last season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy
With the draft two days away, the Steelers have yet to hear from the league regarding the reinstatement of suspended wide receiver Martavis Bryant. Bryant was suspended for the 2016 season for multiple violations of the leagues substance abuse policy.
PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers had hoped for some clarity in regard to the status of suspended wide receiver Martavis Bryant sometime before the NFL draft.
But with the draft now two days away, the Steelers have heard nothing from the league regarding Bryant’s reinstatement from suspension. Because of that silence, the team is moving forward with the assumption they will not have the receiver available in 2017.
“We have not gotten word on Martavis Bryant,” said Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert. “We have no information. We have no idea if we’ll get information (before the draft) or not. We have to operate under the assumption that, until he is here, he is not here.”
Bryant was suspended for the 2016 season for multiple violations of the league’s substance abuse policy. Suspended players are eligible to apply to the NFL for reinstatment once their term has been served, which Bryant did in March.
The league then initiates an investigation, meeting with the player to find out what he has been doing and giving additional drug tests.
The team for which the player is under contract cannot have contact with him while he is suspended, meaning the Steelers haven’t spoken with Bryant, though he has kept in contact with several teammates throughout the process.
In parts of two seasons with the Steelers, Bryant has appeared in 21 games, catching 76 passes for 1,314 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown.
The suspension was his second. He missed the first four games of the 2015 season because of a failed drug test, and another led to his season-long suspension last year.
Because Bryant was suspended for all of last season, it did not count as an accrued season on the four-year contract he signed with the Steelers as a rookie in 2014. He has two years remaining with Pittsburgh.
The Steelers could look for receiving help in this week’s draft because they don’t know what Bryant’s status is or if he’ll ever be reinstated.
“Until he is here, he is not here,” Colbert said. “So we just have to prepare as such. It doesn’t change (the team’s draft process). Whether he would be here or not, we are going to look at all of the receivers and be prepared to act accordingly.”
Meanwhile, the Steelers ensured another of their players will be around beyond the 2017 season when they picked up the fifth-year option on the contract of Pro Bowl inside linebacker Ryan Shazier.
Under rules of the latest CBA, only first-round draft picks are eligible for a rookie contract that extends beyond four years. But teams must pick up an option for that fifth season at a set salary that is determined by the player’s draft position.
Shazier, the Steelers’ first-round draft pick in 2014, will earn a base salary of $1.716 million this season. His salary will increase to more than $8 million in 2018.
Shazier made his first Pro Bowl last season after recording 87 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles in 13 games.
The Steelers could have chosen not to pick up the fifth-year option and tried to negotiate an extension before Shazier reached free agency at the end of the upcoming season – something it chose to do with 2013 first-round draft pick Jarvis Jones. Jones left in free agency for Arizona.
The Steelers did pick up the fifth-year option on guard David DeCastro two years ago, eventually negotiating a long-term extension.