The Commanders signed Martavis Bryant on Tuesday, and when he spoke to the media at camp, he said that the team told him to ‘come out and work hard and let everything fall into place,’ and that while he never knew if another chance would come, ‘I just had to make sure I was prepared to seize the opportunity if it came.’
Jeff Walker believes that Bryant’s signing means ‘bad news for everyone but Terry McLaurin,’ Brian Mitchell thinks it’s a low-risk addition that could either yield an important piece or push the current group, and JP Finlay gives it a ‘seven out of 10 chance’ Bryant makes the team just because of his pedigree.
But does he actually even have that other three out of 10 chance to truly make the 53?
“I think the odds are overwhelming that a dude who gets signed in mid-August isn’t going to make the roster, but this is a little different; this is a guy that showed a ton of talent, and has hopefully conquered his demons,” JP said. “Do you buy it when he says he’s humble and grateful?”
“I believe it – but him not being in a training camp since 2018 makes the chance he doesn’t make the team go up higher,” BMitch said. “We see guys leave the game for one year and they come back and can’t do it anymore, this is six. When you love something and it is taken away from you, the drive and desire comes back, but when it’s six years, you damn near have to be perfect to make it come back to where it was. These other guys you’re competing against have been in camps all this time, and their lightbulbs may go off, too.”
But as JP said, this signing wasn’t an injury reaction or a surprise cut, and he has ‘shown some serious talent in this league before,’ so is all of that still accurate?
“I think that if we're turning into a guy that hasn't really played in the league in several years, kind of three weeks into training camp, that kind of paints a bleak picture for the wide receiver room,” Landfill said, even as JP said it’s maybe not an endorsement or an indictment.
Callers pointed to Bryant giving the group size, to which BMitch said ‘you want size when guys aren't doing a job as a smaller person,’ and one even said the Chiefs won a Super Bowl without a clear No. 1 receiver, let alone a No. 2, so anything is possible.
“I think you’re signing Bryant for a reason, because there was a time he was a difference-maker on the field and it costs you nothing to find out if he still has it,” JP said. “If he does, then he helps your football team, and then maybe you answer some different questions or some new questions arrive. But this is not one plus one equals two, it's a far more calculated equation.”
“He’s gonna come in here giving everything he has, but I just want everyone to give everything that they have,” Brian replied. “You don’t have to see how bad things are to give it your all, and he was taking any opportunity to get back. If you don’t match his want-to, you could have a problem.”