Antonio Bryant
 Bryant in 2009 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | |||||||||||||
No. 88, 81, 89 | |||||||||||||
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| Wide receiver | |||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth: March 9, 1981 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth: Miami, Florida | |||||||||||||
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Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: Miami Northwestern | |||||||||||||
| College: Pittsburgh | |||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: 2002 / Round: 2 / Pick: 63 | |||||||||||||
| Debuted in 2002 for the Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||||
| Last played in 2009 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |||||||||||||
Career history
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Career highlights and awards
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Career NFL statistics as of 2009 | |||||||||||||
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| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |||||||||||||
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |||||||||||||
Antonio Bryant (born March 9, 1981) is an American football wide receiver who last played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for University of Pittsburgh, and was recognized as an All-American and Fred Biletnikoff Award winner. The Dallas Cowboys picked him in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft, and he played professionally for the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. He is currently a free agent.
Early years
Bryant was born in Miami, Florida and graduated from Miami Northwestern High School, where he was a standout high school football player for the Bulls. He was selected as a team captain in three straight years and helped lead his team as a senior to a Class 6A state title and an undefeated record (16-0).
College career
Bryant attended the University of Pittsburgh, and played for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team from 1999 to 2001. He was a first-team All-Big East selection in 2000 and 2001, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore in 2000.[1] He also won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the best college wide receiver in America in 2000; he was the second sophomore to win the award (after Randy Moss). He declared for the NFL Draft after his junior year, leaving as the conference's record holder for regular-season touchdowns (26) and 100-yard receiving games (13).
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
Bryant was selected in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, after dropping because of character concerns. He was given number 88 with the expectation of developing into a great player and was the first rookie wide receiver to start in a season opener since Michael Irvin. At the time, his 44 receptions ranked third, his 733 receiving yards ranked fourth and his 6 touchdown receptions ranked second all-time for a Cowboys rookie in a season. In 2003, he was moved to the #3 receiver after Terry Glenn was signed as a free agent. That year he had his signature moment against the Carolina Panthers (one of the top teams in the NFL at the time), on a 4th and 14 last minute game winning acrobatic touchdown reception.
In 2004, the arrival of free agent Keyshawn Johnson]] started to affect his attitude. During a mini-camp practice after being unsatisfied with the number of reps he had, he started cursing and threw his jersey aiming at Bill Parcells head, before the team broke up the fight. Although Parcells gave him a second chance, tensions kept escalating from that point forward. He was eventually traded to the Cleveland Browns after the fifth game of the season, in exchange for wide receiver Quincy Morgan, who also had issues with his team.[2]
Cleveland Browns
With the Browns he behaved as a model citizen. In 2005, he had his best season up to that point, leading the team in catches (69), receiving yards (1,009 yards) and touchdowns (four). He became a free agent at the end of the year.
San Francisco 49ers
Bryant would later sign as a free agent with the 49ers in 2006. On March 1, 2007, Bryant was released by the 49ers because of clashes with head coach Mike Nolan. This came one year after he signed a four-year, $14 million contract.[3]
Reinstatement
On September 17, 2007, Bryant was reinstated by the league, but was not able to sign with a team, partly because of a failed drug test over the summer. In October 2007, he filed a lawsuit against the NFL to try to get them to stop drug testing him since he was not a player at the time, and to drop the failed drug test.[3] In December 2007, the case was resolved without the details being released.[4]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After not playing in the 2007, on March 10, 2008, Bryant signed a deal for the veteran minimum with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had a career game on Monday Night Football against the Carolina Panthers. He had 9 receptions for 200 yards, including a one-handed touchdown catch dubbed "catch of the year". Despite his performance, the Buccaneers lost 38-23. Bryant finished his best season as a pro with 83 catches for 1,248 yards and 7 touchdowns while averaging 15 yards per catch. He became the Buccaneers' leading receiver and the second player in franchise history to record three or more consecutive 100-yard receiving games. On February 18, 2009, Bryant was given the franchise tag by the Buccaneers,[5] which he accepted on February 26, 2009. On February 25, 2010, after a somewhat disappointing and injury-plagued season, Bryant was released by the Buccaneers.
Cincinnati Bengals
After finishing an injury-plagued season and coming off surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee, the Cincinnati Bengals took a gamble and signed Bryant on March 10, 2010, to a four-year contract worth a reported $28 million, along with multiple incentives.[6]
After the Bengals signed Terrell Owens, Bryant gave up his No. 81 jersey for Owens, who had worn the number his entire career. In return for the number, Bryant requested Owens make a donation to his charity and wore jersey No. 19 instead.[7] After struggling in practices and not being able to play in any of the pre-season games because of problems with his left knee, the Bengals released him on August 29, 2010.[8]
Seattle Seahawks
On June 12, 2012, Bryant worked out for the Seattle Seahawks by attending their three-day mini-camp and took a physical for the team as well.[6] On June 15, 2012, it was reported that Bryant finished all three of the minicamp practices, indicating that his chronic knee injury had healed.[6] After being out of football for two years, Bryant signed with the Seahawks on July 26, 2012.[9] Bryant's stay with the team was short lived, as he was released by the team on August 5, 2012.[10]
References
- ↑ 2011 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, p. 11 (2011). Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1905409
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Ex-49ers receiver Bryant files motion over drug testing". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ↑ "Bryant seeks dismissal of lawsuit against NFL". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
- ↑ Stroud, Rick & Holder, Stephen F. (February 20, 2009), "Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Antonio Bryant 'not happy or pleased' with franchise player tag, agent says", St. Petersburg Times
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 NFL.com Wire Reports (March 10, 2010). "Bengals sign Bryant to four-year, $28M deal while T.O. visit".
- ↑ "2010 NFL Training Camps: Terrell Owens finally shows up at Cincinnati Bengals camp, plays in late practice - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-07-31. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ↑ James Walker (2010-08-30). "Antonio Bryant cut by Cincinnati Bengals after struggling in camp despite $8 million guaranteed - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ↑ http://seattletimes.com/html/seahawksblog/2018783139_seahawks_sign_w_4.html
- ↑ http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/05/seahawks-release-antonio-bryant/
External links
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