If you look at the top 50 receiving yardage leaders in the NFL through Week 9, you won’t find a Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver among them. The Chiefs player that is closest to cracking the top 50 is rookie Rashee Rice, who ranks 54th overall with 378 yards, according to Pro Football Reference. The next Kansas City player on the list is Justin Watson (84th overall, 273 yards).
Despite tight end Travis Kelce being on pace to crack 1,000 receiving yards this season, the Chiefs are not getting enough production from their pass catchers, namely the receivers. That’s why David Latham of Last Word on Sports believes Kansas City is an ideal landing spot for free agent wide receiver Martavis Bryant, who is attempting an NFL comeback.
“Kansas City needs another reliable weapon, and Martavis Bryant might just be the best fit for this team.” Latham wrote on November 6. “With the trade deadline passed, he is arguably the top free agent wide receiver on the market.”
What to Know About Martavis Bryant
Martavis Bryant, 31, entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014. Playing alongside All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown in an offense quarterbacked by Ben Roethlisberger, Bryant hit the ground running when he entered the NFL.
During his rookie season, Bryant caught 26-of-48 targets for 549 yards and 8 touchdowns in 10 regular season games played. He then followed that up with 50 receptions, 756 yards, and 6 touchdowns in 11 regular season games played in 2015.
In 2016, Bryant was suspended by the NFL for one full season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. After being reinstated in 2017, he registered 50 catches, 603 yards, and 3 touchdowns in 15 regular season games played in his final season in Pittsburgh.
On April 16, 2018, Bryant was traded to the then-Oakland Raiders. In December of that year, he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating the conditions of his reinstatement in 2017. In eight games played with the Raiders during the 2018 season, Bryant caught 19-of-27 targets for 266 yards.
This spring, Bryant played for the XFL’s Vegas Vipers. In eight games played, he caught 14 passes for 154 yards,
NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero broke the news on November 4 that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had reinstated Bryant, and that Bryant was drawing interest from teams, per Bryant’s agent, James Peterson. The former Steelers and Raiders receiver worked out for the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, November 6, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. But he remains a free agent as of November 7.
Should Chiefs Be Interested in Martavis Bryant?
After multiple suspensions, many years out of the NFL, and a lackluster season in the XFL last spring, Martavis Bryant should not be of interest to the defending Super Bowl champions.
Though Bryant once upon a time was a big-bodied, explosive field-stretcher, his stats from his one season in the XFL display that Bryant is not the player he used to be when he was in the NFL, let alone the Steelers version of himself.
Bryant would be better suited for an NFL team dealing with a bunch of injuries in their receiver room, not one like the Chiefs’, which needs a higher level of production. Or he could go back to the XFL for one more season in 2024 and try to prove he can be a better version of himself at age 32.
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Chiefs Named ‘Best Fit’ for Ex-Steelers Draft Pick Attempting NFL Return