The early reviews about new Oakland Raiders wide receiver Martavis Bryant are in, and they’re not good. He’s already been called out publicly by Raiders coach Jon Gruden for his poor performance in camp, where he has been outplayed by Ryan Switzer.
Former Raiders receiver James Jones went out and talked with Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson about Bryant’s struggles, and it appears to be primarily a mental issue.
“I just had a chance to speak with Coach Olson and he said talent-wise, there’s probably nobody that can compete with [Bryant] talent-wise,” Jones said per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “But they said he’s not picking up the playbook, and that’s the reason of a little frustration right now because they want to get him on the field but he’s not able to grasp the playbook yet.”
Bryant is apparently so far behind that the Raiders have resorted to simplifying things and lining him up in just one spot to help him along.
To be fair to Bryant, Gruden’s playbook is notoriously challenging to learn, particularly for quarterbacks. However, this inability to grasp the playbook has been an ongoing problem for Bryant since he came into the league, and at 26 years old, he’s got no more excuses left. Simply put, he needs to get to work and pick things up if he wants to play.
Despite Bryant’s undoubted talent, not to mention the price the Raiders paid the Pittsburgh Steelers to acquire him, Gruden won’t hesitate to turn to someone else if he can’t buck up and execute his system.
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