The Oakland Raiders’ decision to trade a third-round pick for wide receiver Martavis Bryant doesn’t look particularly smart in hindsight. Bryant was cut over the weekend as he faces another suspension from the league. And even when he was still with the team, he struggled to pick up the offensive playbook.
But Raiders head coach Jon Gruden believes they still made the right move by taking a chance on a player of Bryant’s potential and also hinted at possibly bringing the wideout back next year.
“The guy’s a superb talent. The guy’s got great talent,” Gruden said per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “We’ll be criticized for that but it was a risk I think well worth taking. Perhaps we’ll get Martavis again next year and get the best out of him.”
Bryant could potentially be out for the upcoming year due to another violation of the league’s substance-abuse policy. Bryant has already been banned by the league for a full season and could face a similarly stiff penalty once again.
It’s interesting to hear Gruden sounding so complimentary about Bryant after he publicly criticized the wideout’s play and took jabs at him with loaded nicknames when he was with the team.
Bryant clearly does have the talent that Gruden has praised him for. But whether it’s been the suspensions or the inability to apply himself, Bryant has just been unable to get it together. And despite Gruden’s optimism, it’s looking more and more unlikely that anyone can ever get the best out of the mercurially talented Bryant.
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