Advertisement

Romby Bryant retires as a Stampeder, and as an example of surprising longevity

Romby Bryant retires as a Stampeder, and as an example of surprising longevity

Much of the attention in sports goes to long-established star players or up-and-coming rookies, but what about the others? Some of the most interesting stories are about those who defy the odds to put up long careers in a high-turnover sport without posting tremendous numbers. Sports Illustrated's Chris Ballard showed this last week with a phenomenal profile of long-time NBA player Matt Barnes (whose brother, Jason, has had a lengthy and impressive CFL career), and Monday's news that veteran CFL player Romby Bryant is retiring at age 35 is another case in point.

After a solid college career at Tulsa and brief cups of coffee in the NFL as an undrafted free agent, Bryant came to the CFL with Winnipeg in 2008. He spent the next eight years in the league with the Bombers, Stampeders and Argonauts, posting 331 career receptions for 4,874 yards and 33 touchdowns. Bryant only passed 1,000 yards in a single season twice, though, in 2008 with the Bombers and 2010 with the Stampeders (where he also recorded 15 touchdowns, the highest total by a Calgary player in the last 20 years). A lot of that was thanks to various injuries that limited him to less-than-full seasons, and part of it may also have been due to his teams having a wide variety of other high-profile receivers. What stands out about Bryant is that he was able to keep playing and contributing to 35 in a sport where teams are often looking for younger, cheaper replacements, especially for international receivers.

It wasn't size that let Bryant find success in the CFL: Wikipedia lists him as 6'1'', 191 pounds, so he's not particularly big. His speed was much more of a factor, and he managed to leave plenty of defensive backs in the dust over the years, but it wasn't all that made him successful. Here's an example of that which is perhaps his most memorable catch, a 68-yard game-winning touchdown pass from Drew Tate with 34 seconds left from the 2012 West semifinal against Saskatchewan:

Bryant's pure speed is on display here, as he's running a go route down the sideline, but this play also illustrates his deceptiveness. You can't really see it in the video, but at 0:06, the defender in his zone stops and starts to cut back, which is why he's beaten so badly. It looks like Bryant made a bit of a subtle move suggesting this was a curl or a comeback near the first-down market instead of a straight go, and the defender (defensive back Terrell Maze) jumped the route, leaving Bryant open. Those instincts and abilities to sell fakes are also key to success as a receiver, and they're part of why Bryant managed to last so long in a game and a position that often favours the next hot young prospect over the established veteran.

This was part of a remarkable day for Bryant. He was playing just a week and a half after the sudden death of his former Tulsa roommate Tse Ogisi, and he posted four catches for 102 yards after not having a 100-yard game all season. That earned him the game ball, which he later presented to Ogisi's family. This almost didn't come together for Bryant, though; an earlier catch led to a fumble that put Saskatchewan back in the game, and he couldn't catch another go route earlier on the final drive. As Jon Cornish remarked after the game, Bryant got another chance and made the best of it:

“I think everybody deserves a second chance, in whatever they do. And today Romby showed a second chance is all you need. He had the fumble, but he turned around and did exactly what needed to be done. He got wide open and made it happen.”

That's a larger theme of Bryant's career. He had a great first season with Winnipeg in 2008, posting 65 catches for 1,206 yards, but the Bombers fired head coach Doug Berry after the season and replaced him with Mike Kelly. Bryant didn't figure as prominently in Kelly's offence, only posting 20 catches for 232 yards over the first few months of the 2009 season, and he was traded to Calgary (with Arjei Franklin, for Odell Willis and Jabari Arthur) in September. That second chance with the Stampeders paid off big-time; Bryant posted 27 catches for 548 yards (a remarkable average of 20.3 yards per catch, almost double the 11.6 he averaged in Winnipeg in 2009) the rest of the season, and then really broke through in 2010. He was an important part of Calgary's offence for the next couple of seasons before signing with Toronto in 2013, and while injuries limited him there (and he was cut in their 2014 training camp), he had a solid final season with Winnipeg last year. Bryant faced lots of adversity over his CFL career, but he managed to persevere and keep fending off the waves of younger potential replacements. He may never have reached consistent superstar status, but he was a valuable piece for the Stampeders in particular, and his longevity in a position where that's rare is impressive.