Antonio Bryant

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Antonio Bryant
No. 88, 81, 89     
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: March 9, 1981 (1981-03-09) (age 30)
Place of birth: Miami, Florida
High School: Miami Northwestern High School
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
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
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2009
Games played     106
Games started     82
Receptions     372
Receiving yards     5,685
Receiving TDs     30
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com

Antonio Bryant (born March 9, 1981) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons during the early 2000s. He played college football for University of Pittsburgh, and was recognized as an All-American. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft, and also played professionally for the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Bryant was born in Miami, Florida. He graduated from Miami Northwestern High School, where he was a standout high school football player for the Miami Northwestern Bulls.

[edit] College career

Bryant attended the University of Pittsburgh, and played for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team from 1999 to 2001. As a sophomore in 2000, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the best college wide receiver in America. He was the second sophomore to win the award, following Randy Moss, and preceding fellow Panther Larry Fitzgerald in 2003.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Dallas Cowboys

Bryant was selected in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, but in 2004, after he threw a jersey in the face of Head Coach Bill Parcells, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns for wide receiver Quincy Morgan.

[edit] Cleveland Browns

Bryant spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons with the Browns before becoming a free agent.

[edit] 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 dollar contract.[1]

[edit] 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 is not currently a player, and to drop the failed drug test.[1] In December 2007, the case was resolved without the details being released.[2]

[edit] Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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 the 2008 season with 83 catches for 1,248 yards and 7 touchdowns while averaging 15 yards per catch. He was the Buccaneers' leading receiver. On February 18, 2009, Bryant was given the franchise tag by the Buccaneers,[3] which he accepted on February 26, 2009. On February 25, 2010, after a somewhat disappointing and injury-plagued season, Antonio Bryant was released by the Buccaneers.

[edit] Cincinnati Bengals

On March 10, 2010 Bryant signed a 4-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals worth a reported $28 million, along with multiple incentives.[4]

After the Bengals signing of WR Terrell Owens, Bryant gave up his number 81 for Owens, who has worn the number his entire career. In return for the number, Bryant requested Owens make a donation to his charity.[5] About the number switch Bryant said: "I'm a realist," "I said, 'Hey, man, I'm not going to make no big spectacle about it. You've got a bigger legacy and a number than I do. I've been on several teams like you, but I've changed my number several times. You've had the same number."

"I don't need your money,'" Bryant said. "'All I want you to do is take care of one of my little league programs in Miami. Send them a small donation and we'll go from there.'" He wore jersey number 19 while attending the Cincinnati Bengals training camp in Georgetown, Kentucky where Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens, Andre Caldwell, Jordan Shipley, Dezmon Briscoe, Jerome Simpson, Matt Jones, and Bryant himself have been catching passes from quarterbacks Carson Palmer, J.T. O'Sullivan, Jordan Palmer. [5] On August 29, 2010, it was announced that Antonio Bryant's contract was terminated by the Bengals, making him a free agent.[6]

[edit] References

[edit] External links


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