Bills Reportedly Tried To Trade For Steelers WR Martavis Bryant Last Year

According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Bills attempted to trade for Steelers WR Martavis Bryant last year.

Buffalo ultimately swung a deal with the Panthers for Kelvin Benjamin ahead of the trade deadline.

Fowler reports that there’s “minimal buzz” about the Steelers are actively shopping Bryant. However, Fowler adds that this doesn’t mean that Pittsburgh isn’t at least listening to trade offers for Bryant, which fits with the recent report from Ian Rapoport.

As of now, the Steelers and Bryant have not had any discussions about a contract extension, but Fowler wouldn’t be surprised if Bryant sat out offseason workouts.

While Pittsburgh may be open to moving Bryant in a deal, Fowler says that the Steelers’ best course of action is likely to give him the chance to maximize his potential in a contract year.

Bryant, 26, was selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He’s entering the final year of his four-year, $2.7 million rookie contract and stands to make a base salary of $705,000 for the 2018 season.

Bryant was suspended for the entire 2016 season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and returned to the team coming out of the preseason last year. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 58 receiver out of 119 qualifying players.

In 2017, Bryant appeared in 15 games for the Steelers and caught 50 passes for 603 yards receiving and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 22 yards and totaled 151 kick return yards.

We’ll have more regarding Bryant as the news is available.