UPDATE (5:22 p.m.): The Raiders officially cut ties with Martavis Bryant, and announced their 53-man roster. The original story is as follows.
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The Raiders gave up a third-round draft pick to acquire Martavis Bryant. That's a valuable commodity.
Looks like they threw it away.
The Raiders are expected to release the dynamic receiving talent Saturday while trimming their roster to 53 players.
ESPN reports that the NFL could suspend Bryant as a repeat offender of the league's substance abuse policy.
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Bryant has appealed the ruling. If it is upheld, Bryant could be out of football for a long time. He was conditionally reinstated before the 2017 season after a year away from the game because of failed drug tests that moved him to advanced stages of the substance abuse policy.
The length of Bryant's suspension is subject to appeal, per ESPN.
Bryant didn't endear himself to Raiders coach Jon Gruden during the offseason program and training camp, struggling to learn multiple receiver positions. Gruden dubbed him the "white tiger" in training camp, calling him hard to find on the practice field after missing several practices because of headaches and something Gruden called an illness.
That included the last Raiders practice prior to Thursday's preseason finale at Seattle.
Availability, due illness or suspension, ultimately convinced the Raiders to look elsewhere for receiver help.
Giving up such a high draft pick for Bryant proved to be a failed experiment, and maybe the biggest misstep of the Raiders' 2018 draft.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
