Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant has been suspended for an entire season after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
The receiver’s latest positive test is said to include marijuana, the very same drug he tested positive for to warrant a four-game suspension to start last season.
What’s interesting here is that the NFL decided to skip the normal 10-game suspension that comes after the initial four-game ban. This seems to suggest that Bryant failed multiple drug tests between then and now.
Understanding full well that his career and livelihood is on line, Bryant is apparently checking himself into rehab and will be evaluated for depression:
“We’re all stunned, me included,” Bryant’s agent Brian Fettner told USA Today after news of the suspension trickled in on Saturday. “We clearly miscalculated the issue. His isn’t a party issue. It’s a coping issue and a depression issue, and he’s got to take care of it.”
Bryant will have to apply for reinstatement after his current ban ends, at which point the NFL could deny it. This means that the star receiver is going to have to get his house in order off the field if he’s going to return to the actual field for Pittsburgh.
Bryant, a fourth-round pick of the Steelers back in 2014, recorded 50 receptions for 765 yards in 11 games as a sophomore last season.