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Breaking News 6/15: Suspension for Martavis Bryant Coming? (1 Viewer)

Dr. Octopus

Footballguy
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the Raiders fear imminent league discipline for Martavis Bryant.

Per the Review-Journal's Michael Gehlken, Bryant's imminent discipline is believed to pertain to the NFL's substance-abuse policy. Bryant, of course, missed all of 2016 due to substance-abuse-policy violations. Gehlken confirms any further substance-abuse infraction could cost Bryant another year, or longer. With ex-broadcaster Jon Gruden replacing Reggie McKenzie at the Raiders' personnel controls, Oakland dealt the No. 79 overall pick for Bryant in late April.
from Rotoworld

 
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from Rotoworld
Letting Crabtree go & getting punked by the Steelers in the Bryant deal (if true) doesn’t look good for Chuckie.

I was initially excited about Chuckie’s return, but this (again, if true) & the thing with the Pro Bowl punter makes me wonder if he’s going to be successful.

 
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Letting Crabtree go & getting punked by the Steelers in the Bryant deal (if true) doesn’t look good for Chuckie.

I was initially excited about his return, but this (again, if true) & the thing with the Pro Bowl punter make me wonder if he’s going to be successful.
I think he's made some horrific personnel moves since taking over - which is especially troubling since Reggie McKenzie did so much good work to turn that team around. I like Gruden and the league is more fun when the Raiders are relevant so I hope I'm wrong but I see one expensive train-wreck coming.

 
I think he's made some horrific personnel moves since taking over - which is especially troubling since Reggie McKenzie did so much good work to turn that team around. I like Gruden and the league is more fun when the Raiders are relevant so I hope I'm wrong but I see one expensive train-wreck coming.
I kinda get that feeling, as well.

 
You have to ask how much the Steelers knew about a possible violation before they made the trade.

They obviously won short term but if anything comes out that they knew or had some information about Bryant using that it will hurt their ability to conduct any future trades.

 
You have to ask how much the Steelers knew about a possible violation before they made the trade.

They obviously won short term but if anything comes out that they knew or had some information about Bryant using that it will hurt their ability to conduct any future trades.
With Bryant’s history, I think it will be pretty easy for the Steelers to convince other teams that they knew nothing more than his previous tendencies and risk facors which were public knowledge.  (Even if they did have specific evidence, they seem to be in a very strong “plausible deniability” environment.)

 
Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet 37m37 minutes ago

Ian Rapoport Retweeted Michael Gehlken

There is some issue with Martavis Bryant, but it’s not clear if it’ll cause a delay (like last year before camp), a quick fix via paperwork or a suspension. All was well when Bryant met at the NFL Offices in late April.

Sounds like a recent issue so nothing while he was still with the Steelers.  Also sounds like it could be a paperwork issue not that it would stop Goodell from suspending him again.

 
Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet 37m37 minutes ago

Ian Rapoport Retweeted Michael Gehlken

There is some issue with Martavis Bryant, but it’s not clear if it’ll cause a delay (like last year before camp), a quick fix via paperwork or a suspension. All was well when Bryant met at the NFL Offices in late April.

Sounds like a recent issue so nothing while he was still with the Steelers.  Also sounds like it could be a paperwork issue not that it would stop Goodell from suspending him again.
A paperwork issue? Wth does that mean?

 
With Bryant’s history, I think it will be pretty easy for the Steelers to convince other teams that they knew nothing more than his previous tendencies and risk facors which were public knowledge.  (Even if they did have specific evidence, they seem to be in a very strong “plausible deniability” environment.)
Plausible deniability is weak.  It just means you can't prove we know or knew something but some people will never ever trust you again.

A paperwork issue? Wth does that mean?
He is in 'testing protocol' which means they randomly dial him up and force him to provide a sample within a 24 hour framework.

If he can't or won't provide a sample within that strict time frame he has violated his obligation even if he's ten seconds late and the sample shows he had nothing in his system, he still fails the protocol and it is considered a failed test.

If you check on many 'failed' tests it is from not getting the sample in on time even when the sample provided showed negative results, it is a 'protocol' violation which equals a failed test so they have to make extra-sure the paperwork is completely accurate.

 
Plausible deniability is weak.  It just means you can't prove we know or knew something but some people will never ever trust you again.
Supposedly he was in good standing as late as April.  I am not sure how you come up with the Steelers not being trustworthy.   His suspensions were well known by everyone and the Raiders made the trade anyway.  If Bryant is suspended again, and I hope he isn't, this is all on the Raiders.

 
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The Raiders took a chance on a player that was clearly battling drug addiction. He's also apparently suffering from mental health issues (depression is named in this article).   

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/81693628?__twitter_impression=true

If the public knew this guy had a high risk of being suspended--I'm not sure if the Raiders could claim that they were mis-led.  

If he does indeed get suspended--how much if any do you guys bump amari or Jordy in redraft?

 
Supposedly he was in good standing as late as April.  I am not sure how you come up with the Steelers not being trustworthy.   His suspensions were well known by everyone and the Raiders made the trade anyway.  If Bryant is suspended again, and I hope he isn't, this is all on the Raiders.
I agree. The Raiders knew what they were getting into.

Maybe the Steelers did their homework (like doing detective work) or maybe they didn't, but either way, this is totally on the Raiders. Obviously, Bryant didn't have any failed tests preceding the trade & that's all that matters.

A 3rd for a talent like Bryant is a good deal for the Raiders on the surface, but the downside is exactly what happened. The Raiders gambled & lost if the reports are true.

 
Putting any blame on the Steelers is dumber then dirt.

He likes to smoke pot, has a hard time saying no to it, and just moved from Pittsburgh to Oakland and spends his offseason in Vegas where it's also legal. That's tough on someone who has a hard time saying no and I'm not even trying to judge him in the least.

I hate it for Bryant and I hate the NFL policy but there is a reason the Raiders were universally mocked for sending a third to the Steelers for him and why Colbert jumped on it, he never though he'd get that good of an offer.

 
Seems a bit strange to me.  Scott Bair tweeted out that Martavis hasn't been notified of anything up to this point.  Shouldn't he know if he's being investigated for something?  There's a lot of vagueness here.

 
Seems a bit strange to me.  Scott Bair tweeted out that Martavis hasn't been notified of anything up to this point.  Shouldn't he know if he's being investigated for something?  There's a lot of vagueness here.
He knows, he just hasn't gotten the official paperwork or notification yet.   Not high on goodells to do list, like gordon kept getting pushed back.     Dude is enrolling in rehab voluntarily.

Was just a matter of time also.....in oak or vegas, that environment was not conducive.    Dudes career is over, whether officially banned or not

 
JoeJoe88 said:
I know it looks bad.  And yes, he's a knucklehead.  But all I'm saying is that there's nothing concrete yet.  
Rappaport, nothing clear at this time.

------------------------------------------

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1007602349270061056

Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet

FollowFollow @RapSheet

Ian Rapoport Retweeted Michael Gehlken

There is some issue with Martavis Bryant, but it’s not clear if it’ll cause a delay (like last year before camp), a quick fix via paperwork or a suspension. All was well when Bryant met at the NFL Offices in late April.

 
 Yesterday morning I got a big offer with Bryant involved. Pisses me off when owners try to pull a fast one like that. 

 
 Yesterday morning I got a big offer with Bryant involved. Pisses me off when owners try to pull a fast one like that. 
I hear you. Got an offer for Jason Witten right after he announced his retirement - I told the other owner to never send me a trade offer again.

 
You have to ask how much the Steelers knew about a possible violation before they made the trade.

They obviously won short term but if anything comes out that they knew or had some information about Bryant using that it will hurt their ability to conduct any future trades.
If I'm not mistaken if its found out they knew the trade is revoked and Steelers get their pick back. I think I remember reading something similar during the Micheal Bennett saga if SEA knew anything about his arrest Philly could get their 7th rounder plus Marcus Johnson back. 

 
If I'm not mistaken if its found out they knew the trade is revoked and Steelers get their pick back. I think I remember reading something similar during the Micheal Bennett saga if SEA knew anything about his arrest Philly could get their 7th rounder plus Marcus Johnson back. 
Stop the nonsense.

 
I hear you. Got an offer for Jason Witten right after he announced his retirement - I told the other owner to never send me a trade offer again.
One of the worst things owners try to do. I've been sent numerous trade offers like this especially in Baseball and my keeper NFL league. This one guy complained about not getting back into fantasy after he couldn't pull off a trade yrs ago. Took over a team we had vacated. He's tried to make some pretty bad trades with low ball offers for good players injured or suspended or vice versa sending us offers with his injured guys for our healthy guys all while asking for keeper round picks for them. It's a pretty ***** way for an owner to do business and out commissioner has had to get involved to stop him from doing so. Considering we have to put the picks in manually as ESPN our league won't automatically picks our commish said the first few yrs we had the league before this guy got involve we had maybe 7-8 trades in a given season maybe with 3-4 counting offseason before our draft. However with this guy in the league he's doubled and tripled the trades in the league with over 80% of them involving him. He once tried to Pony off Phillip Rivers to the guy with the worst record for the #1 overall pick at the trade deadline two yrs ago plus one of the guys best players. The same player he got from me I asked for a 4th or 5th rounder depending on the player he gave me and said he didn't think Rivers was worth that 3 weeks before. 

 
One of the worst things owners try to do. I've been sent numerous trade offers like this especially in Baseball and my keeper NFL league. This one guy complained about not getting back into fantasy after he couldn't pull off a trade yrs ago. Took over a team we had vacated. He's tried to make some pretty bad trades with low ball offers for good players injured or suspended or vice versa sending us offers with his injured guys for our healthy guys all while asking for keeper round picks for them. It's a pretty ***** way for an owner to do business and out commissioner has had to get involved to stop him from doing so. Considering we have to put the picks in manually as ESPN our league won't automatically picks our commish said the first few yrs we had the league before this guy got involve we had maybe 7-8 trades in a given season maybe with 3-4 counting offseason before our draft. However with this guy in the league he's doubled and tripled the trades in the league with over 80% of them involving him. He once tried to Pony off Phillip Rivers to the guy with the worst record for the #1 overall pick at the trade deadline two yrs ago plus one of the guys best players. The same player he got from me I asked for a 4th or 5th rounder depending on the player he gave me and said he didn't think Rivers was worth that 3 weeks before. 
First off, this is the only time I can remember when a fantasy player thought having more trades in his league was a bad thing.  Usually folks complain that there isn’t enough trading in their leagues.

Second...why are people accepting these deals if they are so terrible?  It’s one thing for a guy to keep sending lousy offers that exploit recent news, but if trades are going throughnand needing processing, then apparently someone thinks the deal is a good one?

 
First off, this is the only time I can remember when a fantasy player thought having more trades in his league was a bad thing.  Usually folks complain that there isn’t enough trading in their leagues.

Second...why are people accepting these deals if they are so terrible?  It’s one thing for a guy to keep sending lousy offers that exploit recent news, but if trades are going throughnand needing processing, then apparently someone thinks the deal is a good one?
It wasn't a complaint about more trades being made as much as it was the same guy trading and keep on trading. We don't have a set cap on player trades per year. The funny thing is if he wasn't such a micromanager he'd have probably won the league two yrs in a row

To be fair on the second part we had two guys who were in our league still learning how to play fantasy football in a keeper aspect type league. the one guy quit do to drama and then other one has stayed and become really good. Went from one of the worst teams the first 2 yrs he played too making the finals game this year. We have a veto option we have used to stop some of these trades but it's gotten to the point where our commissioner sent out a memo for all teams please use proper judgement on trades. He even suggested a few apps on to determine if you weren't sure if the trade was good for you or not. He also warned the owner making these bad trades of no more funny business. The next time he tries a move like that again he'll put up a vote for the other owners to let him stay in the league or kick him out. He's had enough of it. Plus the owner is very condescending to our Commissioner at times and then tries to play it off like he's the victim. He was part of a message board for baseball we were all in and acted similar there. Always went after people but when he got confronted tried to play victim. I've sent our commissioner a few emails on his attempted harassment of me trying to steal my best players. Constant weekly spamming trade offers out there for your best guys for him to give up almost nothing. It got to the point where I told this manager don't contact me anymore with offers if this is gonna be how it is. If you want a player not named my 4 best players you are interested in and want to act like an adult about it I'd be happy to talk. Anymore offers on my best players will simple be ignored and declined. 

 
Djackson10:  Whatever happened to just declining without having to have a discussion?  You can’t dictate to other owners what kind of trades they must make.  The point to trading is to get the best possible deal for your team, not ensure every offer is roughly 50/50.  If you don’t want offers there is nothing wrong with what you did in telling him not to offer you trades anymore, but it is ridiculous to think you can vote someone out of the league for making bad offers.  If newbie owners are getting taken on a regular basis then veto the obvious horrible  deal.  You know it when you see it.  Having said that, leagues shouldn’t veto trades just because they aren’t even.

 
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If only there were a thread already in existence to discuss offers that are bad but not the worst you ever had.

 
Still no clarity at all on this. Seems rather odd. Really hoping it’s just a minor issue that’s been blown out of proportion because of his past and reputation. 

 
Still no clarity at all on this. Seems rather odd. Really hoping it’s just a minor issue that’s been blown out of proportion because of his past and reputation. 
Unfortunately, his past and reputation kind of prevents any issue from being considered minor.

 
You better get comfortable, the league office has never been known to move with alacrity on these matters.
I understand that on meting out the actual punishrment. But we still have no clarification on what he actually even did. Did he fail another test? Did he miss one? Peds? 

 
I understand that on meting out the actual punishrment. But we still have no clarification on what he actually even did. Did he fail another test? Did he miss one? Peds? 
They don't make public announcements about failed/missed/whatever tests. The only reason we hear about these things in prior to the formal punishment being meted out is because of leaks from within the league office. I can guarantee you that every single person with any connection to the league office is trying to get the scoop on this rumor.

The good news for Martavis/Raiders fans is the fact that there haven't been any substantive leaks since the initial rumor.

 
If the rumor is true, it would be......unusual for it to be days without confirmation.

Not confirmation in terms of a suspension being announced, but in terms of someone backing up the rumor. On Twitter, you see info guys confirming stuff within minutes. 

Adam Schefter hasn't mentioned this? 

It's possible this Vegas writer has the story for DAYS before Schefter, but that would be unusual.

 
If the rumor is true, it would be......unusual for it to be days without confirmation.

Not confirmation in terms of a suspension being announced, but in terms of someone backing up the rumor. On Twitter, you see info guys confirming stuff within minutes. 

Adam Schefter hasn't mentioned this? 

It's possible this Vegas writer has the story for DAYS before Schefter, but that would be unusual.
Exactly. This is all I’m saying. 

 
The only reason we hear about these things in prior to the formal punishment being meted out is because of leaks from within the league office.
You sure about that? Is it leaks from league office or leaks from player or team. I think it's the player and team myself but no way to know for sure.

 
You sure about that? Is it leaks from league office or leaks from player or team. I think it's the player and team myself but no way to know for sure.
Does it matter? The point is there is no formal announcement until there's a formal announcement. So get comfortable, it may take a while.

 
Does it matter? The point is there is no formal announcement until there's a formal announcement. So get comfortable, it may take a while.
No not in grand scheme of things but you stated it like it was fact and I was just looking to clarify it.

I believe the NFL offices take a vacation around July 4th so if we don't get an update by then this probably drags out till mid to late July at least.

Strange thing is I was in a FFPC/Footballguys draft this weekend and saw two other drafts and Martavis was still getting drafted in 11-12th range. That's not far off where he was going before this report came out, makes no sense to me.

 
No not in grand scheme of things but you stated it like it was fact and I was just looking to clarify it.

I believe the NFL offices take a vacation around July 4th so if we don't get an update by then this probably drags out till mid to late July at least.

Strange thing is I was in a FFPC/Footballguys draft this weekend and saw two other drafts and Martavis was still getting drafted in 11-12th range. That's not far off where he was going before this report came out, makes no sense to me.
You're right. I probably shouldn't have said " league office" and just said "leak".

Bottom line is we won't hear anything official until the league makes an announcement, and that may (will) take awhile.

 

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