May 23, 2017 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – Life is full of opportunities, both those that are taken advantage of and those missed.

Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant knows he’s getting perhaps his final opportunity to remain in the NFL.

And he doesn’t plan on allowing this last chance to slip away.

“I know this is my last chance,” Bryant said Tuesday after taking part in an optional training session with his teammates for the first time in 16 months.

“I have put the right people around me. I have the right things in place so that I can succeed and maintain my sobriety. As long as I continue to pass my tests and do what I have to do for my family, and take care of my business, everything will be just fine.”

For a while, that did not look to be the case.

A fourth-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2014, Bryant burst onto the scene midway through his rookie season as one of the league’s top deep threats. He has caught 71 passes for 1,314 yards and 15 touchdown in 21 career games.

But there also has been plenty of trouble.

Bryant was suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy, then drew a full-year ban in 2016 for more failed tests.

He cost himself plenty, not only in terms of salary – nearly $900,000 over the past two seasons – but in terms of trust and respect from his teammates, coaches and fans.

Bryant, 25, believes he can get those back with time.

“Everything is earned, not given,” Bryant said. “All I can do is just take care of my business and do what I have to do off the field. As long as I do that, they will see the change in my ways. As long as I continue to pass my tests, go to my meetings and maintain my sobriety, I will be fine.”

His teammates seem willing to forgive, if not forget.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown each expressed disappointment last year that Bryant had slipped up again.

There are things Bryant can do to win them back.

“We just need to be able to trust him and rely on him,” said fellow receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. “The best thing he can do is be available. So if he keeps his nose clean, which I believe he will do, hey, we’ll welcome him back to the team. We know what type of talent he is. We know what he can bring to this team. I believe he has learned his lesson, but time will tell.”

Bryant spent his time away from football living in Las Vegas, where he went through an extensive rehabilitation, working with a counselor for six hours per day before heading to work with athletic trainers.

Bryant said he has been sober for more than a year. And the league will continue to test him two or three times per week, as long as he remains in the NFL.

It will continue to be an ongoing process of recovery. Bryant said the birth of his son seven weeks ago has helped him stay focused and keep things in perspective.

“I changed my whole life around, compared to how it used to be,” Bryant said. “I developed better habits. I also (changed) who I hang around with. I am a family man. I just had a son (Cali King Alexander Bryant). After I leave here, I am going straight home to him. (I am) really developing my life and getting back on track.”

The Steelers hope so, not only for the sake of the team, but for Bryant. He’ll be added to a wide receivers group that already features Brown, one of the game’s most dynamic playmakers, and Eli Rogers, Sammie Coates, Heyward-Bey and Ju Ju Smith-Shuster, a second-round draft pick this year.

Bryant is fine working at a crowded position. He’s added 10 pounds of muscle to his 6-4 frame to put him at a muscular 225 pounds.

And when the Steelers began the team portion of workouts Tuesday, he lined up opposite Brown with the first team.

“They have been pretty good,” Bryant said of his teammates. “Everybody is just happy to see me and to know that I am doing well, what I am supposed to do and what is required by the league – handling my business as a man. They can tell that I changed my ways. I am a family man now. Family is everything. My team is my family, as well.”

Tuesday marked the first day of a three-week period in which the Steelers are permitted to have 10 non-mandatory practices with the coaching staff. After that, it will hold minicamp before breaking for training camp. … The training camp schedule will be released May 31. … The only notable player not in attendance was running back Le’Veon Bell, who continues to rehab following offseason groin surgery.