Antonio Bryant Cut By Cincinnati Bengals: What Does It All Mean?

The Cincinnati Bengals found themselves in the midst of one of the strangest transactions of the offseason today as they cut ties with wide receiver Antonio Bryant.

The team originally signed Bryant to a four-year, $28 million contract in March after releasing wide receiver Laveranues Coles earlier in the offseason. Coles had actually been signed to an almost identical contract just the year before, but failed to live up to expectations.

Bengals' management hoped that Bryant could fill the gap left by the departure of T.J. Houshmandzadeh as the No. 2 receiver. A pretty reasonable move, considering that he put up over 1,200 yards in 2008 as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There was just one problem: Antonio Bryant wasn't healthy.

Bryant struggled with injuries during the 2009 season and had to have surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee.

The Bengals took a gamble, hoping that his knee would be fully healed in time for the start of practice. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Antonio Bryant attempted to practice on the Bengals' first day of workouts, but it was clear that his knee hadn't healed like expected. He explained that the muscles around his knee weren't strong enough for him to go full-speed. As a result, he was held out of workouts and missed all of the preseason up to this point.

When the Bengals decided to sign Terrell Owens in late July, it was clear that Bryant's health was more than just a minor concern.

The team had actually brought in both receivers for workouts earlier in the offseason, but ultimately decided to go with the younger Bryant. It was obvious that something had changed in order for the team to suddenly want to sign T.O. as well.

With T.O. shining in preseason and the emergence of rookie receiver Jordan Shipley, it was evident that having Antonio Bryant on the roster was more of a luxury than a necessity.

The move to cut Bryant seems a little strange at first. After all, they could have just put him on the injured-reserve list with the hope that he could return at full strength next season. The Bengals, however, were ready to just cut their losses and move on.

The team acknowledged its original mistake in signing Bryant and made what they believe would be the smartest business decision in the long run.

The negative is that they will have to pay $8 million in guaranteed money without getting any production in return.

However, since 2010 is an uncapped year, they will not have to take the salary cap hit this season. Had this been a capped year, the Bengals likely would have stashed him away on the injured reserve list with the possibility that he may recover in the future.

Cincinnati simply had no room for a receiver that wasn't 100 percent healthy.

With Bryant out of the picture, the team has an extra roster spot for what is still a crowded wide-receiver competition. Now they can keep another young receiver like Quan Cosby, who they otherwise would have been forced to cut.

The Bengals will still have plenty of reliable receiving options with Bryant gone.

Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens will occupy the outside receiver spots, while Jordan Shipley will likely take the slot position. Not to mention, Jermaine Gresham will be an excellent receiving option at tight end.

Andre Caldwell will now most likely be the fourth receiver, while Quan Cosby, Jerome Simpson, Matt Jones and Dezmon Briscoe will be left to fight over the final two spots.

Expect the Bengals to try to keep as many of their young wide receivers as possible by stashing Briscoe on the practice squad and giving the final two receiver spots to Simpson and Cosby.