Commanders Sign Former Raiders' Wide Receiver

A long, long time ago, the Las Vegas Raiders traded for Martavis Bryant. They sent a third round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for his services, and Bryant joined the team ahead of the 2018 season.

That was one of the first big moves of former head coach Jon Gruden's tenure, and it was a controversial one. Bryant had a ton of talent, but also had struggled to keep his career on track.

Before being acquired by Las Vegas (Oakland at the time), Bryant had missed the entire 2016 with a suspension. Bryant would end up only appearing in eight games for the Raiders, before he ended up being suspended indefinitely for drug use.

Since then, he's been out of the league. However, he did his best to stay in shape, and make himself ready in case he was ever reinstated.

Bryant got that wish in November 2023, as he was reinstated by the league, and once again free to sign with any team. He had failed to latch on with anybody yet, but his time finally came on Wednesday, when it was announced that he signed with the Washington Commanders :

Bryant offers a unique combination of size and speed, although it's unknown how much of an impact he'll be able to make, given the team's current receiving group .

He hasn't appeared in an NFL game since he as with the Raiders in 2018, when Bryant was 27. He's now 32, and will turn 33 during the 2024 season.

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However, the case could also be made that the time off has given Bryant time to rest his body, which hopefully can prolong his career.

Bryant has been one of the bigger 'what if's' in recent memory, and hopefully he can get on the right track in Washington.