It was nothing short of a difficult road back to the football field for Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant due to off-the-field issues that saw him miss the vast majority of the last two seasons due to suspension.
However, it appears that Bryant has grown unhappy with his situation in Pittsburgh, as he's desiring a change of scenery, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Sources: #Steelers playmaking WR Martavis Bryant recently requested a trade. His teammates and coaches are well aware that he’s unhappy.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 16, 2017
In his first season back after a year-long suspension due to failing multiple drug tests, he has seen his role within the offense diminish. Through the first six weeks of the 2017 campaign, he has just 15 catches on 31 targets for 204 receiving yards with a touchdown.
Much of this frustration could be stemming from the fact that rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster has taken up the secondary receiving role behind Antonio Brown over the last couple of weeks, as he has 12 catches on 21 targets for 160 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Article Continues BelowBryant took to Twitter to respond to the report, claiming that he's quite happy in Pittsburgh:
Big win today and tomorrow right back to work tomorrow I am happy to be a steeler and can't wait to reach number 7 this year.
— Martavis Bryant (@martavis1212) October 16, 2017
This developing situation, along with the cemented roles in the offense for Brown and All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell, has capped his production. That said, Bryant has developed the reputation as being high-impact as a deep-ball threat wideout, which has etched him out a dependable responsibility in the flow of the offensive scheme.
Ultimately, things could shift to high gear in the coming days ahead of their Week 7 divisional matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.