The Martavis Bryant experiment in Dallas is apparently not over after all.
The Cowboys are expected to sign the veteran wide receiver to a reserve/futures contract on Wednesday, per a report from Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
The 32-year-old was signed by the Cowboys in early November upon his reinstatement to the NFL following a 2018 suspension by the league. Bryant joined the team’s practice squad but was released just after the first of the year in order to make room for offensive lineman La’el Collins.
Some observers took it as a signal that Bryant was done, but not so.
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.
Bryant back for 2024.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 17, 2024
The 6-foot-4-inch receiver, once a fourth-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2014 out of Clemson, showed promise in Pittsburgh and with the Raiders, but saw his career derailed by both injury and violations of the league’s substance abuse policy at the time.
He bounced around from the CFL (though he didn’t actually play for Toronto) to the Indoor Football League, back to the CFL (though he never suited up for Edmonton either), to the Fan Controlled Football league, and finally to the XFL’s Vegas Vipers in 2023.
But Bryant maintains he can still contribute to an NFL roster.
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“I’m still fast, still big, still want to play football,” he told reporters back in November.
“I haven’t lost anything. It’s more of a proving point to me. I’ve got a lot of doubters out there. It’s more me proving it to myself that I’ve still got it.’’
The Cowboys were willing to give him the chance to prove it in November and December. They apparently saw enough to warrant securing him for the 2024 season’s initial 90-man roster.
Dallas signed eight other practice squad players to futures deals on Monday.
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