Never miss a moment! Get the CBS Sports App for the fastest scores, breaking news alerts and inside access to your favorite sports and teams.
After taking to social media to complain about his lack of targets the last two games, Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant will not play this week. One of the league's most dynamic players was also demoted to scout team.
What won't happen: a trade. According to various reporters, Bryant wanted out of Pittsburgh because he felt he was being underutilized. But the Steelers aren't moving him, which means he'll be a part of their offense for the second half of the season.
"If I'm not traded I'm going to work my butt off here, and whatever happens happens," Bryant said Wednesday, via ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler. "You're not going to hear me complaining no more. I'm just going to be quiet and let everything fall into place."
Meanwhile, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Tuesday that he plans to sit down with Bryant to talk about ways of getting the wide receiver more involved.
"I'm the guy that throws the ball, so if you're unhappy about something, come talk to me," he said, via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Maybe there is something we can figure out together to make it better."
But, the quarterback warned, this won't mean a refocusing on the offense just to keep one player happy.
"I'm not going to be a doctor and promise I'm going to save your life," Roethlisberger said Wednesday. "I'm going to tell him if you're on your details and we're working together and I trust that you're going to be where we're supposed to be and you're there, good things will happen."
Perhaps most curious is that Bryant has only voiced frustration via social media, never to coaches or teammates.
"You never hear him complain," Roethlisberger continued. "I never hear him on the field -- crying, complaining, wanting the ball, throwing his hands up, not running hard, doing things like that. You see him blocking hard after guys catch the ball during runs. I grab him on the sideline and talk about the [plays] like I do with other guys, and he's very engaging. ...
"Martavis is out there busting his butt. You hear frustrations when he goes home and gets on social media. Here in the locker room, we don't see any of that. That's why potentially it is treated a little differently."
Bryant, who had eight touchdowns as a rookie in 2014 and six more a season later, missed all of 2016 due to a suspension. Through seven games this season, he has just 18 receptions for 234 yards and one touchdown. He and Roethlisberger have been close on several deep throws but have yet to rediscover the success they had during Bryant's first two seasons.
So how can this issue best be resolved?
"Hopefully, it's lots of touchdown passes," Roethlisberger said. "We need to get the ball to [Bryant], to everybody, we all need to score points. There are opportunities there. That's why I told him to come talk to me. ... There are plays to be had. We just have to make them."