George Pickens’ turbulent tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers featured spectacular performs alongside controversial moments that generated fixed headlines.
All through this era, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin constantly defended his gifted however risky receiver.
That relationship has now concluded with the Steelers buying and selling the 24-year-old wideout to the Dallas Cowboys for draft picks.
Whereas each organizations explored commerce prospects in the course of the 2025 NFL Draft with out reaching an settlement, current reporting reveals why the separation in the end occurred.
In keeping with New York Instances reporter Mike DeFabo, the state of affairs behind closed doorways had deteriorated considerably, with Tomlin’s famend persistence lastly reaching its restrict.
“However after deflecting usually — and at different instances, maybe stretching the reality on Pickens’ behalf — even Tomlin’s persistence seemed to be working skinny by the tip of the 2024 season. It reached an inflection level in Week 13 in Cincinnati. Pickens was flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct — one for making a gun gesture and one other for dropping a ball on a Bengals defender. For one of many first instances publicly, Tomlin reprimanded his star receiver,” DeFabo wrote.
For a company targeted on correct cultural rebuilding, these considerations proved substantial. Such habits probably undermines workforce chemistry and growth efforts.
Final season offered quite a few warning indicators about Pickens’ maturity. Throughout a recreation in opposition to the Dallas Cowboys, he wore eye black bearing the message “Open F—ing All the time” which Tomlin claimed to not discover.
In that very same contest, Pickens noticed restricted motion with simply 34 snaps and 20 routes run. When questioned, Tomlin dismissed disciplinary motives, describing it as “snap administration.”
Following a tough loss to Cleveland, Pickens engaged in a bodily confrontation with Greg Newsome, which Tomlin once more claimed to not witness.
The state of affairs escalated in the course of the season finale when Pickens clashed with followers, requiring teammate Pat Freiermuth to bodily restrain him.
After practically three full seasons of comparable incidents, Pittsburgh management doubtless questioned whether or not Pickens would ever develop the maturity obligatory for his or her program.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals How Aaron Rodgers Could Have Influenced George Pickens Commerce
