For the most part, I've always figured that Antonio Bryant will rest, rest, rest and once he's recovered, he'll either rotate with Terrell Owens in two wide receiver formations, or be the third man in three wide receiver sets. Again, that's what I figured. The encouraging thing is, as Geoff Hobson writes, Bryant "is going to start testing his knee out in the next few weeks, maybe next week".
While it's nice to hear he's going to be active, maybe as soon as next week, it's still cautious to believe that Bryant will contribute to the team's practices or against the Broncos on 15th, or even Eagles on the 20th.
On the other hand, the Bengals may be bold enough to move on if Bryant's knee doesn't respond. Geoff Hobson writes:
All indications are the Bengals aren’t going to fool around. They want to give Bryant time to rehab, but they also want to know if he can give them anything before they decide to cut some younger players. The thinking is they’ll see what he can do in the final three preseason games or so and they’ll know for sure. Complicating things is that Jerome Simpson and Maurice Purify are playing well and making a real push.
Now, this could mean several things. Maybe they could outright release him and write off the $7 million already given to Bryant in bonuses. No, no. I agree. This doesn't seem like a move in Mike Brown's or Katie Blackburn's DNA. More likely, if he's not ready, they'll simply dump him on Injured Reserve, freeing a spot for one of the younger receivers and writing off this year.