Steelers’ Bryant back from suspension

PITTSBURGH — Martavis Bryant slowly made his way down the hill that connects the locker room at Saint Vincent College with Chuck Noll Field, his familiar No. 10 Pittsburgh Steelers jersey pulled over the talented if occasionally troubled wide receiver’s shoulders in public for the first time in 574 days.

As Bryant took what he hopes were the final steps in his return from a 13-month drug suspension, a small boy yelled, “Hey Martavius,” adding the extra ‘u’ that’s inexplicably become commonplace during Bryant’s threeplus seasons in Pittsburgh.

Less than 20 minutes later, Bryant was lining up in the slot and running an out pattern during warmups. As he cradled a lob from Ben Roethlisberger and toe-tapped, a voice from the stands said, “Welcome back.”

Yep, it seemed like old times for Bryant on Sunday as he went through drills with his teammates, three days after the league cleared him to practice following a procedural issue that forced Bryant to spend the first two weeks of training camp working out on an adjacent field.

Bryant isn’t exactly sure what the holdup was. If he’s being honest, he also doesn’t particularly care.

“I had no control over that,” Bryant said. “So I had to make sure I came here with the right mindset.”

Not just about football, but about life. One of the key players for the Steelers when he’s on the field, Bryant has been limited to just 24 of a possible 51 games during his brief career.

He sat out the first six games as a rookie as he underwent a rocky adjustment from Clemson to the NFL.

He sat out the first five in 2015 for running afoul of the league’s substance abuse policy then missed all of 2016 after violating the policy yet again.

The previous time Bryant caught passes in front of the public, he hauled in nine catches for 154 yards in a divisional round playoff loss to Denver on Jan. 17, 2016, a game that showcased Bryant’s considerable gifts, from his 6-foot-4 frame to his soft hands to his remarkable speed.

And just like that, it was taken away. The pain from having the game taken away from him because of his own doing was too much. Bryant is eager but still wary. Asked what he still has to do, he smiled.

“Everything,” he said before adding “not mess up.”

Martavis Bryant was suspended by the NFL for 13 months.