Mike Tomlin rained down his punishment on a disgruntled Martavis Bryant, as he said he would, when they met Tuesday following the receiver's social media rant this past weekend.
There will be no fine forthcoming for Bryant, but the receiver said Wednesday that Tomlin told him he will not play this Sunday in Detroit.
"I'm not playing Sunday, which is fine," said Bryant, who also called off sick from work Monday for the fourth time in the past month. "I'm not tripping or nothing. It is what it is."
The Steelers have a bye week following the game at Detroit, and the NFL trade deadline is Oct. 31. Bryant did not back away from the notion that he would like to be traded, saying he did not regret that part of his statement in the Instagram rant that followed the 29-14 victory Sunday over the Bengals. He did, however, say the things he posted regarding rookie receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster were unfortunate.
"As far as the situation with JuJu, it wasn't like that," said Bryant, who added that he has not spoken with Ben Roethlisberger about the situation. "We both think we are the best player in the game. If you don't think that, why play the game? I'm going to see what happens. As of now, I'm here. I'm going to wait and see what happens. That's all I can focus on right now."
At question were statements Bryant made Sunday night in which he said there was, "No way JuJu is better than me." He also said the Steelers should trade him if they weren't going to use him.
Some teammates were irked by Bryant talking poorly about a teammate.
"When we start football, it’s one team, one goal, and that’s to make it to the Super Bowl," Stephon Tuitt said Wednesday. "Along the way, you’re going to have situations. The one thing you don’t want to do is bury yourself. You do not want to have the trust of your teammates gone. Martavis has a chance to get that back. But you can’t talk about one of your teammates. You never want to throw one of your teammates under the bus. You can be frustrated. You're a top receiver. You have special abilities. That’s why you're part of the NFL, part of a team. No matter all the stuff that you did, you’re still part of a team. Think about all of the players that are not. You’re still here. You’re digging a bigger grave by adding your teammates into it."
Bryant has had just five passes thrown his way the past two games, both Steelers victories. Against the Bengals, he caught one pass for 3 yards and also had an end around that gained 2 yards. But he also played 36 snaps compared to 31 for Smith-Schuster in the game. The Steelers attempted just 24 total passes.
At the root of the issue for Bryant is that he hasn't been the explosive receiver he was before serving a year-long suspension last season for violation of the league's substance abuse policy. He has just 18 receptions for 234 yards and one touchdown this season. Bryant had 14 touchdown receptions in his first 21 games.
He and Roethlisberger haven't looked like they've been on the same page at times, and the Steelers aren't throwing the ball as much as they did in his first two seasons, when the team averaged more than 300 yards passing per game in both 2014 and 2015. With Bryant out last season, the Steelers leaned more heavily on running back Le'Veon Bell to make the offense go. And they have continued that, especially in recent weeks, allowing for fewer opportunities for receivers other than Antonio Brown to make plays.
"I worked hard to get back," Bryant said Wednesday. "Didn't nobody give me nothing. Didn't nobody help me get back. I made myself get back. As far as me coming back and expecting everything to go my way, no, I didn't expect that. At the same time, nobody helped me get back; nobody expected me to come back. I did that on my own."
Per league rules, teams are not permitted to have contact with players serving a suspension for violation of the substance abuse policy. That left Bryant to rehab and get clean from his substance of choice - reportedly marijuana - on his own.
"They stood by me. They didn't cut me, so they definitely stood by me," Bryant said of the Steelers. "But as far as me wanting to and doing the things I needed to do, I did them all on my own."
But he's not on his own now, and Tomlin and his teammates clearly want him to understand that. If he wants to be part of something bigger than himself and be a winner, he needs to swallow some of his pride.
To that point, Bryant ran plays with the scout team Wednesday.
"I ran practice squad reps, giving a good look for the defense," Bryant said. "The show must go on. Even if I'm not playing, I'm going to be here for my teammates. "I want to be the best. I'm not going to hide how I feel. But what happened, happened. I just have to learn from it."
