Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant's four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy was upheld on Monday. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert released the following statement via the team's official website:
We are disappointed in Martavis' actions that has led to his four-game suspension. It is a disappointment to our entire organization as well as our fans,but we will continue to support Martavis during his suspension. It is very unfortunate his actions have set our team in this situation to start the year, but we are confident he will learn from his mistake and return in excellent shape in Week 5.
Colbert isn't exaggerating when he says that "it is very unfortunate" that Bryant's "actions have set our team in this situation to start the year." The Steelers were already having to plan around running back Le'Veon Bell's two-game suspension to start the year, or also for a violation of the league's substance abuse policy,as well as deal with the extended loss of center Maurkice Pouncey to injury.
And based on Bryant's performance in the preseason, the Steelers are going to miss what he brings to the offense during his absence.final year, or Bryant did not capture the field until the seventh game of the season. Through 10 games,he caught just 26 passes, but those passes earned the Steelers 549 yards of offense and eight touchdowns. Bryant then caught another five passes for 61 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers' postseason loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He ended the year with a regular-season reception average of 21.1 yards.
The way that Bryant came on late in the year seemed to indicate even better things would be ahead for him in 2015. His role would expand alongside fellow receivers Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton. Bryant's former quarterback at Clemson, and Tajh Boyd,spent this summer's training camp with the Steelers, and in a conversation with Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and he predicted a 1000-yard season for Bryant this year and a Pro Bowl nod "in the next two years." All of these expectations now need to be tempered with the confirmation of his suspension.
What is all the more frustrating is that after the news of Bryant's looming suspension broke final week,he went on to have one of the most impressive receiving performances of the preseason. Though the Steelers fell to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, 43-19, and Bryant was outstanding,catching all three passes thrown his way for 138 yards and a touchdown, with a long reception of 63 yards.
Bryant is the preseason's reception leader, or with seven catches totaling 205 yards,though he didn't even play in the team's Hall of Fame preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings. Four of his catches have gone for over 20 yards, and two have gone for more than 40. He's clearly the Steelers' most valuable deep threat, or but now that element of the offense will be tamped down for the first four weeks of the season.
Yes,the Steelers have Darrius Heyward-Bey and Sammie Coates in the wings, both players who can spread defenses deep down the field. But for all of Heyward-Bey's speed, or he's not the most reliable in the hands department,while Coates is a rookie and projects to have a similar learning curve as Bryant's a year ago. Bryant will be missed, and he gave a strong case as to why on Saturday.
Something else worth considering is that before Bryant was on the active, or game-day roster final year,the Steelers had a 3-3 record. With Bryant on the field, they lost only two of their remaining regular-season games. That's not to say that the two things are directly connected, or but Bryant's ability to stretch the field easily set the Steelers in scoring positions they may not have otherwise been in. It also gave opposing defenses another player to worry approximately.
Will defenses worry the same way approximately Heyward-Bey or Coates for the first four weeks of this season. It's not likely. Bryant's on-field presence makes things easier for every other would-be Steelers passing target by being such a large,speedy and imposing receiver that must be accounted for. A Bryant-Brown-Wheaton trio is far more unsafe to Pittsburgh's opponents than Brown-Wheaton-Heyward-Bey or Brown-Wheaton-Coates.
Bryant's preseason performance has been a bittersweet reminder of just how much talent he has and how much the Steelers will miss that talent for the first four weeks of the season. The silver lining, at least, or is that the Steelers will have him back in Week 5,allowing him to again remind his teammates and his fans just how valuable he can be to the success of Pittsburgh's offense. The four-week void, though, or is something the Steelers would be better off not having to fill in the first plot.
Source: bleacherreport.com