Report: Armonty Bryant not promoted to 53-man roster, will not play vs. Panthers

According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Lions did not make a move on Saturday regarding Armonty Bryant and his current status on the commissioner’s exempt list. This means Bryant will remain off the active 53-man roster for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers and will not play.

Bryant has already completed serving his four-game suspension stemming from a substance abuse violation earlier in the year. At the beginning of the week, the team placed Bryant on the exemption list, meaning he could practice with the team, but did not count against the team’s roster limit. Detroit had until late Saturday to decide if they wanted to activate Bryant in time for Sunday’s game against the Panthers. Since they made no move, he will not play.

Now, according to Birkett, the Lions have until Monday to decide if they want Bryant around at all for 2017. Bryant remains on the exempt list, but can only stay there for a week. If the Lions do not activate him by Monday, he will be released.

While Bryant isn’t likely to suddenly make Detroit’s defensive line a strength, he could add some depth to an extremely shallow unit. Just a few weeks ago, the Lions were forced to add veteran free agent George Johnson to the squad in an effort to help round out a depth chart that had included two undrafted rookies.