Let's All Give Antonio Bryant a Big Welcome to WDR!

Sure, with the release of Antonio Bryant we learned the following:

• the Bengals clearly misdiagnosed the condition of their centerpiece offseason acquisition
• the Bengals didn't really go all out to win for the fans this year and surround Carson Palmer with the weapons he needs by getting TO - they just tried to cover their ass
• the Bengals can still be criminally inept with their decision making, allowing Antonio Bryant to practice the first day of training camp and preventing them from using the PUP exemption for his roster spot
• Bryant's knee is still so bad and the Bengals are so cheap, they won't even hang onto him to see if he can be a long term solution at WR

But nevermind all that, you can read about the whole progression of this epic boondoggle here, instead let's just focus on the upside.  Via Joe Reedy we discover:

Antonio Bryant’s signing ended up being one of the most expensive decisions in the team’s 43 seasons of existence. Without playing a down, Bryant made $6.95 million via a $3.6 million roster bonus, $3.1 million roster bonus which was paid on March 21 and $250,000 for taking part in the team’s offseason workout program.

He could be making even more. Bryant’s agent, Lamont Smith, said that the team did not approach him about an injury settlement and that they would file a grievance to get the $1.55 million in base salary he was slated to make.

That. Is. Fucking. Awesome.

Antonio Bryant took Mike Brown's ass to the bank.  For that alone, Antonio Bryant earns himself a spot in the pantheon of Great Revolutionaries.  For showing up at a one-day workout and fooling the Bengals Bryant cost Mike Brown and his heirs the equivalent of:

• half a year of Club Seat season ticket sales
• about 868,750 beers (assuming $8/beer) concession sales
• about 1,390,000 hot dogs concession sales
• over 4,156 years of Indian Hill Swim club memberships
• and last (but not least) 1,737,500 Denny's Friend Cheese Melt sandwiches (the horror!)

Say what you want about Bryant, but his ability to conceal the extent of his knee injury did more damage to Bengals pocketbook than we could ever dream to do ourselves.

So congrats Antonio, you'll always be a hero to Bengals fans even though you didn't play a down.

Comments

[B_town]

Just a quick update, the team has now spent 14 million finding a replacement for TJ. TJ's money that Seattle guaranteed, 15 million. Now the team is renting TO who will take a roster spot away from another receiver which means they'll be signing another WR next year or drafting one. Makes sense, right?

I've said earlier, when the Bucs would not even talk to this guy it was a bad sign. They were a 3-13 team that is developing a young QB and would not touch a guy they franchised the previous season. He was their best WR by far and has been replaced by rookie Mike Williams. The Bucs may have had a rough season last year but this organization won a Super Bowl and have made the playoffs 5 times since 2000, they're not stupid.

BTW, why no information on the Forbes article about MB trying to weasel out of his agreement with the county?
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/30/football-valuations-10_Cincinnati-Bengals_306869.html

[Rich]

Bienemy,

I don't disagree with anything you said. I think what is lost in this is the likelihood that Bryant is a liar who strung the Bengals along just enough to get signed and then pulled up lame. I guarantee you that between the Bengals medical staff, the coaching staff, and the front office staff, Bryant was asked a dozen times in a dozen ways: does he have pain?; if he worked out, what kind of work out he did and could he tolerate it?; could he play?; was his knee currently causing him problems? What kind of pain medication did he need? He probably lied that he was NOT having pain when the medical staff clinically tested his meniscus and his postoperative MRIs could go either way. Not everything is black and white.
I believe he told them whatever they wanted to hear and then managed long enough to grind through a few short workouts. Then he reinjured himself getting ready for training camp or just couldn't grind through the entire preseason
He goes out and paints himself as the victim so he can get even more compensation. There is almost assuredly more to this story and it is almost assuredly that Bryant is a liar who misrepresented himself to the Bengals. I question the integrity of the player in addition to the player's meniscus.

Usually when a screwup is this bad, it is multifactoral and can't be blamed solely on one party (i.e. the medical staff). The Bengals are ALWAYS digging through the bargain bin of humanity. That in and of itself is a dangerous way to operate and has cost them millions. Sometimes it pans out (Benson) and sometime it costs them dearly.

[Rich]

Now gimmie a $4.00 Denny's fried cheese melt, bitch!
(for a limited time only at participating Denny's locations)

[Sleeping With Bieniemy]

I hear you Rich but obviously this is not a unique situation. Their have been free agents coming off injury before and I can't remember hearing about one of those situations being screwed up as much as this. I would love to hear of other examples if you can provide one. Obviously any free agent will be trying to present themselves as being perfectly healthy during the process. Relying on their word, even if you need someone to let you know if there's pain, is a horrible idea.

I am not going to begrudge Bryant trying to get a contract. My guess is he wants to play football, not just collect checks.

[Sleeping With Bieniemy]

Great point about Coles, B Town. I thought franchising TJ was pricey at the time, but I would never have questioned the Bengals for doing it. You have to wonder how 2009 would have turned out had we done that and Carson had more options to throw to than Chad.

[Wyatt]

In Penis King's MMQB, he mentions that another NFL medical staff member told him that Bryant has all the signs of Chondral Defect of the knee, which is apparently VERY hard to diagnose unless you're absolutely looking for it and would explain why Bryant has had such a hard time recovering. It also means that the Bengals are making the right choice in releasing him, even though they made the wrong choice in signing him. As I said before, cutting their losses rather than trotting him out there injured until he couldn't play any more is the right course of action.

[rich]

There is no doubt that the bengals are idiots. They could have built their practice facility on what they wasted on Coles and Bryant instead of waiting for UC to share one. I'm just saying two things: I think that Bryant purposely screwed them and that one of those fried cheese melts looks good right about now.

[The truth]

I wish we would have kept TJ but it's not as easy as just saying we should have paid him what he wants. Trust me if we did we wouldn't have made the playoffs last year. If the Nengaks would have paid TJ what Seattle paid him, Chad would have held out training camp and beyond. Think about it this way imagine you think you are the best person at your job and the guy that got hired with you wasn't as good as you. He leaves and the company hires a younger guy and pays him more than you. You're pissed but keep working because hell you don't know he may he better. However if they give the guy you used to work with more than you and you know your better you are all kinds of pissed.

I truly think they took Chad into consideration during the whole ZtJ thong

[MikeBrownStillSucks]

1. Rashad Jeanty's agent claims they misdiagnosed his injury, so that's yetanother player who says the Bengals medical staff SUCKS.

2. They couldn't afford an MRI and the best knee experts in the world? Really? When you're about to blow $8 million bucks?

3. With the money they blew on AB, they could have hired a number of safeties a position of just as big a need as WR.

As I said elsewhere Mike Brown doesn't mind gambling and losing because he knows excuse-making. The "loss" of Antonio Bryant is a built in excuse for the next four years.