It doesn’t look like Martavis Bryant will be traded any time soon, but the San Francisco 49ers should be keeping tabs on his situation.
Trade rumors disappear as quickly as they arise in the NFL, and that was again the case with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that Bryant had requested a trade from the Steelers, seemingly frustrated with his role in an offense that has misfired for much of the campaign so far.
However, Bryant has since moved to dismiss those rumors, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler:
"“I’m good. I know my potential and what I can do. The little bit I get or whatever I get, I just have to make the best of it. Everything else is out of my control.”"
But, to use a particularly tired cliche, there is no smoke without fire. And teams across the league should be monitoring Bryant’s situation, especially the San Francisco 49ers. Bryant is a downfield weapon who could be a significant asset in Kyle Shanahan’s offense with his size and catch radius at 6-4 and 221 pounds and speed to beat defenders deep.
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The 49ers have some talent at receiver, with Marquise Goodwin and Aldrick Robinson both able to stretch the field. Yet, they also lead the league in drops with 20, per Pro Football Focus‘ Twitter. Bryant has typically not dropped many passes. Per the Football Outsiders Almanac, he dropped just three of his 49 targets in 2014 and only six of 92 targets in 2015. His catch rate through six games in 2017 is just 50 percent, but this is a player who has consistently been sure-handed and has displayed a tendency to make the spectacular catch.
The suspension for the entire 2016 season for substance abuse raises obvious concerns, but Bryant is the type of talent the 49ers do not have at receiver and one worth gambling on. San Francisco has nine picks in the 2018 draft, so they would have plenty of ammunition with which to make a possible trade for Bryant were such an opportunity to present itself.
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At present it appears unlikely that any team will have the chance to trade for Bryant. However, with the amount of discord there seems to have been in Pittsburgh this season, an opportunity could well arise in the offseason to get a player who will be entering the final year of his Steelers contract.
Should that be the case, then the 49ers should not hesitate in making a push to land Bryant. This is a situation general manager John Lynch needs to have a close eye on.