Reports surfaced Sunday that Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Martavis Bryant has asked for a trade, but that appears to be news to his quarterback.
Ben Roethlisberger appeared on 93.7 The Fan on Tuesday morning and shot down any talk of a trade demand.
"Martavis, I talked to him, he doesn't want to go anywhere," Roethlisberger said.
He then offered up a possible explanation for how the rumor began:
"Sometimes things come from agents because they want what they think is best for the player and don't realize it ends up hurting the player. I don't know exactly what happened here, but I do know that Martavis, there hasn't been any inklings of unhappiness. It's unnecessary drama."
Bryant reportedly asked for a trade, with teammates and coaches well aware of his disappointment with his usage.
Roethlisberger called into question the validity of the report.
"The person that broke this story first was the same person that broke the story that I wanted to be traded, and I know there's zero percent truth to that, so I kind of take some of the stuff he says with a grain of salt, too," Roethlisberger said.
It was reported in 2013 that Roethlisberger was unhappy in Pittsburgh and was expected to ask for a trade.
Through six games, Bryant has started three and ranks fourth on the team in catches (17) and second in receiving yards (231) to go along with one touchdown reception.
- with h/t to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
