Roethlisberger: Bryant can talk to me, we'll get him more involved

The Steelers would prefer to avoid the type of drama sparked by receiver Martavis Bryant this week, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said it came as something of a surprise.

Bryant made it clear on social media that he was upset he wasn’t seeing more passes thrown his way, and backed up those posts with comments to ESPN that he didn’t want to be in Pittsburgh if the team wasn’t going to give him the opportunities he wants.

“We never hear him complain,” Roethlisberger said during a media session in the locker room on Wednesday. “I don’t 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 after other guys catch the ball, during runs. I grab him on the sidelines and talk to him about the pictures, like I do with a lot of guys. He’s very engaging, so that’s why all of this is kind of shocking.”

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Roethlisberger said he hadn’t heard Bryant say anything off the field, either.

“You hear frustrations when he goes home and gets on social media,” Roethlisberger said. “Here in the locker room, we don’t see any of that, and – potentially – that’s why it’s treated a little differently.

“That’s one of the reasons I don’t do social media. Not too many good things come from it, that I’ve seen.”

The emergence of rookie receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster – the NFL’s youngest player, at 20 years old – is apparently part of what’s frustrated Bryant, according to his social media comments.

Roethlisberger said Smith-Schuster’s youthful exuberance is welcome in an older, more veteran locker room, but that the rookie knows when to tone it down.

“What I like about him the most is that you can talk to him, and he can almost snap out of it real quick and become a mature football player that is disciplined,” Roethlisberger said.

Asked if there was a way to get Bryant and the team back on the same page, Roethlisberger said it starts with communication.

“We need to get lots of footballs to him … And that’s why I’ve told him, just come talk to me,” he said. “Because we’ve had opportunities, we’ve had a couple of deep balls that we just missed, whether it’s me overthrowing him, whether it’s him slowing down a little bit. The plays are there to be had, we just have to make them.

“I’m the guy that throws the ball, so if you’re unhappy about something, come talk to me. Maybe there’s something that we can figure out together to make it better, make things happen.”

Cox Media Group