The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to call Martavis Bryant's bluff.
The receiver told ESPN's Josina Anderson he wanted out of Pittsburgh if the team isn't going to use him.
Coach Mike Tomlin, however, reiterated the team has no plans to trade Bryant.
"We've invested a lot in Martavis since we drafted him. He's not available via trade. We've invested a lot," Tomlin said.
Bryant has been frustrated with his lack of production since returning from a season-long suspension last year. The 25-year-old has 18 catches for 234 yards on 36 targets this season. He has seen his playing time reduced each of the past two weeks. Bryant played just 34 snaps in Sunday's win and tallied a combined three catches for 30 yards in Weeks 6 and 7.
The lack of production led Bryant to lash out on social media against rookie receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (in a post that has since been deleted) and request a trade if his usage doesn't increase.
Tomlin said he would talk to the receiver about the social media posts. Bryant was not at meetings on Monday.
"We've covered a lot of ground," Tomlin said. "It's obvious that we still got more ground to cover with him because were having a conversation about him that's not football related. But we have, he's done a lot in the period of time that he's been here in terms of improving, not only as a player but as a man. But we still got a ways to go. He was out of bounds with some of his actions, in terms of the things that he said on social media."
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suggested during a radio hit on 93.7 The Fan on Tuesday that Bryant needs to talk to him instead of using outside methods to voice his frustration.
"Come talk to your quarterback," Roethlisberger said. "And that's what I am saying. I don't want to get too much involved because of him and I haven't (spoken). Yesterday we had a really long conversation over text messages and things like that. He was telling me about his frustrations and whatever and I told him, I said, and he told me he's talked to the coaches or whatever, but the one thing you haven't done is come talk to me. How can I help you? Like figure out a way, a game plan, that me as a quarterback I can talk to you and help you and maybe talk through an issue you have. Whatever it may be, let's figure this thing out together. Because he is a really good teammate. I know it seems crazy and you guys may be rolling your eyes, but he is. He is a good teammate. We've just got to talk and figure this thing out."
With Bryant making $615,000 this year and $705,000 next season, the Steelers are in no hurry to jettison a player with talent as they plow towards the postseason. Bryant told Anderson if he's not traded, he would play out his contract in Pittsburgh with no plans to re-sign. The Steelers and the receiver, however, have more than a year to figure out their differences.
