Suspended former Steelers WR Reinstated by NFL

Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant has been reinstated by the NFL, according to a report by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Bryant, 31, was suspended indefinitely by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in 2018 after several failed drug tests for marijuana usage. He applied for reinstatement in 2019, but spent four years waiting to be reinstated.

Since then, Bryant has been playing anywhere and everywhere, spending time with the Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League, at least two indoor football teams and he then played this spring with the Vegas Vipers of the XFL.

With the Vipers, where Bryant played under former Steelers cornerback Rod Woodson, Bryant caught 14 passes for 154 yards this season. Vegas struggled to throw the ball all season, with both Jalen McClendon and Brett Hundley completing less than 60% of their passes.

Since 2021, NFL players are now only required to test for marijuana once per season between the start of training camp and the club’s first preseason game. Players who fail the test are subjected only to a fine for most violations. The league also dramatically increased the testing threshold for a positive result.

“We see that society is changing its views, but views only change because key facts become more and more obvious to the people who make policy,” NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said at the time.

Selected in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Bryant spent the first three seasons of his career in Pittsburgh, catching 126 passes for 1,917 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Steelers traded Bryant to the Oakland Raiders before the 2018 season, but he played in just eight games before the suspension.

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