The Steelers manhandled the Bengals this past Sunday afternoon (Oct. 22) and took a commanding lead in the AFC North. They’ll have a hard time coughing up the division at this point unless they obtain injuries to key players or let certain players derail their team chemistry by causing unneeded drama.
One of those players that could cause an issue and is doing his best to do so lately is Martavis Bryant. Bryant, who has served both a four-game suspension and a year-long suspension, has been both a godsend—and a nuisance—for the Steelers over his career, including this 2017 season in which he truly needed to be on his best behavior.
It started in the offseason when he stated he needed to have a “man to man” with Ben Roethlisberger; after Roethlisberger had stated his displeasure with Bryant for missing the 2016 season. Bryant, who had lost the Steelers’ trust, and rightfully so, should have kept his mouth shut and understood where his quarterback was coming from.
It then came to the attention of the masses after the Chiefs game, a huge win by the Steelers, that Bryant was unhappy and had requested a trade in recent weeks. Bryant, a man trying to regain trust and, quite frankly, work his way back into this league, was unhappy? He denied it, said he wanted to be a Steeler and it was all nonsense. Coach Mike Tomlin called it a non-issue. Seemingly, everything was put to rest. Or so we all thought.
Then again, after a massive victory over the Bengals, Bryant ignorantly chose to take to Instagram to respond to one of his followers by saying “Juju is no where near better than me fool, all they need to do is give me what I want and y’all can have JuJu and whoever else,” speaking of the upstart, hardworking rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster.
There are SO many issues with this. First, why is he even engaging with a fan, hater, follower or anyone else on social media? He clearly is an emotional mess; to even respond to the nonsense, upset or not, is a massive blunder. That’s lesson one in the world of social media. As Herm Edwards famously says, “Don’t hit send.” But Bryant did, and the storm began to swirl.
Second, calling the fan a “fool” does him no good. It just makes Bryant look like the whiner who isn’t getting his way and wants nothing to do with the team and resorts to name calling and throwing out demands like a toddler in the midst of their terrible twos.
Last, and most important, how dare he call out a teammate like that? JuJu has earned all the praise he’s gotten, and then some. Bryant hasn’t earned anything in terms of praise, due to his inability to keep the trust of his coaches, teammates and fans. He says he worked his way back, and he did, but he’s about to throw it away through ignorant requests, obvious moping and infantile behavior. It’s ridiculous.
Yet, the saga wasn’t over. Bryant then called in “sick” to work on Monday, Oct. 23 for film study. Not that there’s much of him on the tape, but if he wants to be on the tape next week, calling in sick after messing up so royally is not the way to do it.
And Tuesday morning, Oct. 24, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported she spoke with Bryant via telephone and he said, among other things, “If they don’t try to include me more and continue to do the same thing, then I want out, period.”
From a long-term perspective, I do not think Pittsburgh is the place for Bryant. Yet, with his talent, he’s capable of exploding at any given moment. If he’s given the opportunity to play against the Lions this week, Oct. 29, it’s very possible Big Ben will attempt to get him more involved in the offense. If Bryant keeps his head on his shoulders, perhaps he’ll make a couple of big plays and settle his emotions. He is a true threat and an asset. He has a role on this team, but he needs to accept what that role is and if the team keeps winning, accept that role and keep your mouth shut.
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