Cowboys Re-Sign Ex-Star Attempting Comeback From 5-Year NFL Suspension

Getty The Cowboys’ Martavis Bryant will get a chance to continue his comeback in Dallas.

For a short time, at least, it was an inspiring story of redemption. Martavis Bryant had been out of the NFL for five years because of a suspension stemming from his inability to cope with substance abuse problems. In September, though, he was reinstated by the NFL and was signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad in November. He never got back on the field, though, and was released by the Cowboys early this month.

That was a bummer for those rooting for the 32-year-old Bryant to see his comeback through. But the story took a positive turn this week when, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, Bryant signed a Reserve/Future contract, meaning he will be back with the Cowboys in training camp.

From Gehlken’s Twitter/X account: “WR Martavis Bryant made a lasting impression on the Cowboys: He is expected to sign a Reserve/Future contract Wednesday, a person familiar with situation said. Bryant spent several weeks on practice squad before team released him Jan. 4 in a numbers crunch.”

8 TDs as a Rookie, Then the Suspensions Began

When he arrived in Dallas in November, Bryant addressed his attempt to return to the NFL after the fall from grace that struck in December 2018, when he was finally hit with an indefinite suspension by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. He had been repeatedly suspended for substance abuse violations before that, which included suspensions that stretched for the entire 2016 season, when he was in Pittsburgh.

Bryant had been a fourth-round pick by the Steelers out of Clemson in 2014, and made an impact as a rookie in Pittsburgh, scoring eight touchdowns on just 26 catches and averaging 21.1 yards per catch. He projected as a future star, but continually ran afoul of league drug-testers. Tired of his unreliability, the Steelers eventually traded Bryant to the Raiders before his suspension.

The road for Bryant to get back to the NFL started first with sobriety, then with deciding whether a return to football was even possible.

“I went through a lot in those years I didn’t play ball, you know,” he said in November. “Getting down on myself, wanting to give up on football, but at the end of the day, I had to look myself in the mirror, face my own demons and get myself together.”

Cowboys’ Martavis Bryant Went to ‘Dark Places’

Bryant was asked where the suspension took him in the past five years.

“To places you can’t even imagine, man, some really dark places and times,” he said. “I really would not like to talk about it, you know, because I worked so hard to get through those moments. But it was a dark time for me.”

Once he got sober, there was more hard work to be done. Bryant got back into football shape in low-level leagues that were not NFL-caliber—the Arena League and the XFL. Bryant then had to clear a path to a return through Roger Goodell’s NFL office. That involved a trove of meetings, as well as a focus on his sobriety.

“I had a process I had to go through, steps I had to do, maintaining my sobriety,” Bryant explained. “Meeting with my counselor. Doing the things I was supposed to do to show that I changed. I put the work in, man, and I’m proud of that. First off, it started with the NFL, I had to go through six months of testing, you know, counselors, doing a lot of things they asked me to do.”

But he got back to the league, if only on the Cowboys practice squad. This summer, though, Bryant will have a chance to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.