Martavis Bryant demoted to scout team a week before NFL trade deadline

The NFL trade deadline is six days away, and it is safe to say that trade rumors about Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant will not end soon. There have been reports he requested a trade, but they were denied. It is common knowledge he has not been happy with his role, but it is taking a serious turn. Bryant has been demoted to the Steelers scout team this week in practice, and will be inactive on Sunday when Pittsburgh faces the Detroit Lions.

The deactivation appears to be related to comments he made on social media. Someone tagged Bryant on an Instagram post and at one point, Bryant said JuJu Smith-Schuster nowhere near better than him.

Bryant said on Wednesday that if he is not traded by next Tuesday, he’ll work hard moving forward, and you won’t hear him complaining any more. “I’m just going to be quiet and let everything fall into place."

There have been plenty of 49ers fans clamoring for the team to call the Steelers and work out a deal. At this point, I wonder if we just see Pittsburgh release him straight out. I imagine it will not be super easy to get much for a disgruntled player, and a guy who is coming off a year-long drug suspension. The 49ers need wide receiver help, but given the comments he has had, I would be surprised if John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan tried to bring him in.