As we close in on 50 hours until the start of the 2017 NFL Draft, the league is conducting what could become a new tradition — the Tuesday afternoon reinstatement dump.
Hours after Pittsburgh wide receiver Martavis Bryant was allowed back in, the league went even deeper into the vault.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the league has conditionally reinstated Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington, who hopes to play in 2017.
Washington hasn’t played in over three years, after substance abuse violations and a guilty plea to an aggravated assault charge.
And the Cardinals have never seemed all that interested in allowing him back through the door, with coach Bruce Arians saying it would be a waste of breath to talk about it.
“Considering we have been prohibited from having contact with him over the last three years,” the team said in a statement Tuesday, “It would be premature today to discuss a potential return to the team.”
Washington was a Pro Bowl-level talent when he played, but that was a long time ago, and it could be tougher for him to find another chance.