Cowboys release WR Martavis Bryant, 3 others from practice squad

From @ToddBrock24f7: The veteran was signed in November after being reinstated by the NFL. His release corresponds with 4 new practice squad signings.

The Cowboys’ signing of Martavis Bryant raised a few eyebrows when it was announced in early November. The wide receiver had been out of football for nearly five years, but the promise he flashed during stints with the Steelers and Raiders made him worth a look once he was reinstated by the league following an indefinite suspension in 2018.

But his time with Dallas amounted to less than two months on the practice squad, with no game-day elevations. Bryant was released on Thursday, along with three other players, to make room for La’el Collins, Damien Wilson, Racey McMath, and SaRodorick Thompson.

Wide receiver Tyron Billy-Johnson, considered by many to be one of the fastest players in the Cowboys locker room in 2023, was also released Thursday without ever having been elevated.

Offensive lineman Adam Pankey and defensive tackle Willington Previlon were released as well; neither saw the 53-man roster for Dallas this season.

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League rules dictate that a team’s practice squad may have a maximum of six players who have more than two accrued seasons of free agency credit. By adding Collins and Wilson, it meant that other veterans had to go. Bryant, Billy-Johnson, and Pankey all have multiple years’ service on NFL rosters.

According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, “other options were available,” but the team felt releasing Bryant and Billy-Johnson was the best choice, given the state of the wide receiver position on the current roster.

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