Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant is now officially back as the league announced on Friday that he has been cleared for regular season practices and games.
Bryant, who was suspended for the entire 2016 season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, was reinstated on a conditional basis in April and a few weeks ago was cleared to resume practicing with the team and allowed to play in preseason games.
Bryant, who the Steelers drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Clemson, has registered 76 receptions for 1,314 yards and 14 touchdowns so far in 21 regular season games played in.
In the two preseason games he played in this year he caught 7 passes for 43 yards.
It’s been a long road back for Bryant but on the surface he appears to have done everything that the NFL has asked of him. He’s now poised for a career year and will be expected to firmly establish himself as one of the league’s top deep passing threats in 2017.
UPDATE: The PPG’s Ray Fiitipaldo is now reporting Bryant has not been technically fully reinstated. That will happen, per the league, sometime during the season. Mainly because the league is very, very incompetent at their jobs.
This does not change Bryant’s availability moving forward. He will be able to practice and play like normal.
