Steelers Notes: Bryant, Haden, Vander Esch

Here’s the latest out of Pittsburgh:

• Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert says the team is not interested in trading wide receiver Martavis Bryant (Twitter link via Dale Lolley of DKPittsburghSports.com). Colbert indicated that he received calls on Bryant from other teams based on media reports, but he intends to keep the 26-year-old. Bryant, of course, is one of the more dynamic wideouts in the NFL, but Pittsburgh could conceivably be growing tired of his off-field antics. The Bills, for one, reportedly attempted to trade for Bryant last season, but it sounds as if the former fourth-round pick will return to the Steelers in 2017. He’s under contract for one more year at a base salary of $705K.
• Veteran cornerback Joe Haden is not in danger of being released despite his relatively high 2018 cap charge, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Haden, who was excellent during his first season in Pittsburgh, is due a $9MM base salary next season and will count for nearly $12MM on the Steelers’ cap. Given that the Steelers are pressed for cap space, Haden had been speculatively mentioned as a candidate for release. Instead, Pittsburgh could approach Haden about reworking his contract down the line, but no machinations of that kind are underway at present.
• The Steelers have already started “doing their draft due diligence” on Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, Fowler tweets. In some mock drafts, analysts have the Steelers targeting the athletic tackle machine at No. 28 overall. Vander Esch is now expected to come off the board earlier than many project, and has even been compared to 2018 Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher. He’s reportedly been running the 40-yard dash in under 4.65 seconds, and could officially beat that number at this week’s combine.