Disgruntled wide receiver Martavis Bryant told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he has "got to move on" at the Oct. 31 trade deadline if the Pittsburgh Steelers don't want him to contribute to the offense.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, however, said Tuesday that is not going to happen.
Bryant, who had one catch for 3 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, refueled his trade request late Sunday night with comments on Instagram. He again didn't show up for team meetings Monday because of an illness. His agent, Thomas Santanello, said Bryant went to see a doctor.
"I just want to be happy, whether it's here or it's somewhere else," Bryant told ESPN. "I just want to help contribute. I just want to be the best player that I can on and off the field ... and I want to be given the chance to be that. But I would like for it to be here. If not, then, oh well. Just got to move on."
He later added: "By the end of whenever the trade deadline is ... I mean if things don't get better, then I got to go."
Bryant told ESPN that he'd like to sit down with Tomlin and discuss his situation. Bryant has one year left on his contract after this season ends.
"I feel like it is necessary for me to talk to everyone," Bryant told ESPN. "I mean, I'm going to sit down, and whoever wants to talk to me, I will talk to them and tell them how I feel. Ain't no hard feelings; it's just business.
"I'm just going to sit down and talk to everybody and see what we can get clear on. Like I said, I don't want to go nowhere. I want to be here, but if they don't want to use me and they don't want to use what I am capable of doing on the field, then just send me on my way."
Tomlin on Tuesday said the Steelers would not trade Bryant, but planned to visit "at some point" with his receiver.
"We've invested a lot in Martavis since we drafted him. He's not available via trade," Tomlin said. "We've invested a lot. We've covered a lot of ground. It's obvious we've got more ground to cover with him because we're having a conversation with him that's not football-related.
"... When I do [visit with Bryant], I'll reign down my judgment and we'll move forward. ... He says some things when he's not around us that are somewhat of a distraction. And I say 'somewhat' because we're fielding questions about it, not because it's high on my damn agenda. But because I am fielding questions, it is somewhat of a distraction, and we'll deal with it as such and move on from it."
Monday was not the first time this season that Bryant missed a workday with an illness. He did not participate in a Saturday walk-through before the Week 5 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he missed two practice days with an illness in Week 4.
One team source said Bryant, who was suspended for the 2016 season because of multiple drug violations, clearly was frustrated on the field Sunday and wasn't really into the game late. On Sunday night, Bryant -- after clarifying remarks made to a fan on Instagram about rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster -- said, "I just want mines, period, point-blank."
Said Tomlin of Bryant: "He was out of bounds with some of his actions in terms of the things that he said on social media. It will be dealt with appropriately. That ball is in my court. I haven't visited with him yet. To be honest with you, I haven't visited with him yet because I've had bigger fish to fry."
Antonio Brown is the Steelers' leader -- by a wide margin -- in receptions and targets, followed by running back Le'Veon Bell. Clustered in the next group are Bryant (18 receptions, 36 targets), Smith-Schuster (17, 27) and tight end Jesse James (18, 25).
"It's irrelevant whether or not his gripe is legitimate," Tomlin said. "The means by which he's going about it is inappropriate. It creates situations like this where I'm wasting time out of my day fielding questions. ... That's why it's an issue."
Bryant has worked hard in recent practices and hasn't been a problem in that area. In fact, he thought he would be central to the Week 7 game plan based on the week of practices.
"There's always a possibility that it can get better," Bryant told ESPN. "I just have to sit down and talk to my coaches. I just got to really, really sit down and talk to these guys and see what they want to do.
"... I've been holding it in, and I ain't been saying nothing to nobody. I just been keeping it to myself and just talking to my receivers coach every now and then about it, but it just keeps happening. I mean, I'm a team player. I'm not trying to act like I'm being selfish because I'm not being selfish. It's just I want to help contribute, and I want to be the best player that I can be.
"I don't like when everyone keeps saying that it's like I am a rookie all over again, because I am not a rookie all over again, period!"
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger texted with Bryant on Monday, telling him he wishes Bryant would've come to him to discuss what has been bothering him.
"I said, 'Tay, the one thing you haven't done is talk to me,'" said Roethlisberger, who added he plans to talk to Bryant on Wednesday. "'Come talk to me. How can I help you? Let's figure out a way, a gameplan, that me, as a quarterback, I can talk to you, I can help you.' ... Let's figure out this thing together, because he really is a good teammate."
Bryant said if the Steelers don't trade him and the issue isn't resolved, then he'll "just play next year out" until his contract is fulfilled.
"I feel like it's going to come down to whether we make changes or not, whether they try to include me more or not," Bryant said. "If they don't try to include me more and continue to do the same thing, then I want out, period.
He added: "So be it [if things don't change and he isn't traded]. I'm not going to re-sign. ... I'm not tripping."
Roethlisberger said he "won't give up" on Bryant, but if the receiver feels that way, then that's his right to do so.
"If that's his prerogative, that's fine," Roethlisberger said. "Then give us everything you have for the next few years. Let's get the most out of this, because we can use him. ... I'm not giving up on him. And I hope he hasn't given up on himself. Let's fine a way to use him."
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler contributed to this report.