Commanders sign WR Martavis Bryant after long absence

Veteran wide receiver Martavis Bryant moved a step closer to his first NFL action in six years, signing Tuesday with the Washington Commanders.

The NFL indefinitely suspended Bryant, now 32, in 2018 following multiple drug violations. The league did not reinstate him until last November.

He spent time late last season on the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys, who released him on Jan. 4. He caught on with the Commanders after a workout at training camp.

“He’s in really good shape and he’s really hungry to prove it,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said, per ESPN. “He’s been ready for a while, so it’s good to have him here.”

Hoping for an NFL comeback, Bryant played for the XFL’s Vegas Vipers in 2023 and caught 14 passes for 154 yards and no touchdowns in eight games.

Bryant caught 145 passes for 2,183 yards and 17 touchdowns in 44 games (18 starts) with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2014-15, 2017) and then-Oakland Raiders (2018). He was a fourth-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2014.

Bryant was suspended four games in 2015 for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. He was suspended for the entire 2016 campaign after reportedly missing multiple drug tests, then suspended indefinitely two years later for violating the terms of his conditional reinstatement.

The 6-foot-4 Bryant adds much-needed size to the Commanders’ receiving corps.

“Martavis has a really cool skill set. He’s got size and length and the ability to use him in the red zone,” said Quinn, who was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator last year when they signed Bryant to the practice squad. “He looks like a linebacker playing wideout from a size standpoint.”

–Field Level Media