It seems that if you ask Antonio Bryant how his training camp has gone thus far, not only would he respond with disappointment, but maybe there's a pinch of embarrassment. He knows he signed a high-dollar contract to be one of the team's more effective receivers, even being the starter opposite of Chad Ochocinco when he signed. Instead, he's practiced once because he's sporting perhaps one of the most popular knee injuries in this city. According to Joe Reedy:
Bryant said his knee was feeling better but didn't have much to add beyond that.
Said Bryant: "I'm just trying to be forgotten. It's hard to forget $7 million but it will be worth it. As soon as I put my feet on the ground (he was riding a Segway while talking) it will be more than worth it."
It's completely understandable that Bryant wants to be forgotten. And he knows exactly why he won't be.
And honestly, the only people that should be embarrassed, if that's the proper word, is the front office, the coaching and medical staff. Not only did they hand out a big-money deal to a receiver with a knee that wasn't fully healed, they didn't prevent Bryant from practicing during the first day of Training Camp making him ineligible for the Player Unable to Perform list, which would have given the Bengals a roster exemption through the first six weeks of the regular season.