We have been seeing tricklings of ‘reports’ for days now concerning the Pittsburgh Steelers and Martavis Bryant. The first source even close to meaningful I have seen to report anything, however, was Ian Rapoport yesterday, whose sources I take with a grain or two of Himalayan sea salt.
So, apparently, the Steelers may be willing to listen to offers from other teams who may be interested in trading for Bryant, if they call. Basically, it sounds like they’re being polite. It doesn’t sound as though they have any particular interest in getting these phone calls, but figure they might as well be heard out anyway.
According to Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers don’t believe the compensation they would get back in a trade for Bryant would be equivalent to the loss of talent, something that the player realized last year during the trade deadline. He also said, to nobody’s surprise, that there are no extension talks happen. Finally, he added that there is no buzz around the league about the team wanting to move him.
Couple of things w. Martavis Bryant/Steelers:
*At deadline, was clear to Bryant team felt not enough compensation available to justify losing his talent.
*Bryant/Steelers have not had discussions about extension
*League people I spoke to say no buzz about team shopping him.— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 23, 2018
Basically, that’s all stuff we already knew, or at least could safely assume. We’ve learned nothing new. But I thought I might throw in my two cents as well. Personally, I’m not entirely opposed to the notion of trading Bryant, even understanding that it would be unlikely for him to fetch anything on the first two days of the draft.
The reality is that the Martavis Bryant that played for the Steelers last season brought nothing to the table that wasn’t expendable. He ran poor routes, and incorrect routes. He dropped footballs or had a hard time tracking them. He made some tough catches, but not as many as you would like. His previous elusiveness was rarely on display.
Even all of that would be well and good, and things did get better toward the end of the season. But if we are in for another year of drama with him, pushing for a trade again, then I would strongly consider obliging him.
And let me make it clear, my feelings on whether or not the Steelers should entertain trade offers for Bryant is contingent upon the idea of him creating problems. If he is content to play out the season, then that’s fine, I’m not interested in moving him.
I don’t need to write a whole lot about how much potential we has. We write it in every article on the topic, and frankly, everybody already knows it too. When you’re that big and that fast, you have potential, and he’s shown it before. The potential to unlock that again is in itself valuable, and you always want depth at wide receiver.
At the same time, we also know that this is Bryant’s last year here, at most. Fowler said there have been no extension talks and of course there aren’t. He’s going to sign somewhere looking to start in 2019, and it’s not going to be in Pittsburgh.
