Bryant will have knee examined
Football-wise, Antonio Bryant has not had a good summer. He was forced to sit out all of training camp with a lingering knee injury and was released by the Cincinnati Bengals. This was just months after the Bengals had signed him to a four-year deal worth $28 million with eight million guaranteed. By releasing him, the Bengals were forced to pay a hefty bill to a player who never played a single game for them.
Bryant will have his knee examined this week. He thought he was making great progress and was close to returning, but with the Bengals forced to trim their roster, the organization lost their patience.
"We'll know exactly where we stand by the end of this week," Bryant’s agent Peter s******r said. "Antonio has been working hard and doing everything he can to get back, and we'll see what the doctors tell us as far as when he might be able to get back on the field."
Bryant proved to be a great team-mate and was unselfish. When the team signed Terrell Owens hours before training camp, many took it as a sign that Bryant was not progressing well and the Bengals were looking for a backup plan. There was concern over who would get the number 81. Bryant had chosen the number but it has been Owens’ number throughout his career and Bryant gave him the number back as a sign of goodwill. With the release, Owens is now the starter alongside Chad Ochocinco, ironically helping to replace the man who gave him his number.
However Bryant did earn a positive impression with the Bengals and the coaching staff. His release was simply a matter of the Bengals trying to cut their losses. That doesn’t mean the Bengals wouldn’t welcome him back with less of a commitment to him. Head coach Marvin Lewis didn’t rule out the possibility of the Bengals possibly resigning him when he’s healthy.
“It provides him an opportunity to catch up with another team, gives him a possible opportunity to come back here and whatever that may be,” said Lewis. “I love this guy, for whatever reason, since he got drafted. It’s unfortunate it didn’t work out, but we’ll see what happens in the future.”
His success in finding another team may depend on the results of his knee examination.
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