The dissection of the Steelers’ trade of George Pickens continues, with one reporter claiming the vets grew weary of him. Appearing on #1 Cochran Sports Showdown last night, Mark Kaboly had some strong thoughts on the subject.
“I think it needed to be done”, he said of the Steelers trading Pickens. “I think it was getting really ugly behind the scenes there. And I think some of the players of veteran leadership weren’t too thrilled with George [Pickens]. I don’t know the timeline on that. So I think that pushed it to the edge”.
Kaboly did say that the Steelers would not have done the George Pickens trade for a fourth-rounder. That was as high as the Cowboys were willing to go during the draft, but they upped their offer afterward. While that may be the case, that doesn’t change the dynamics of the locker room.
“I think a lot of the players were finally fed up with him, and the right players were fed up with him, Kaboly added. He didn’t elaborate on who the right players were who were tired of George Pickens. I’m sure we can make reasonably educated guesses as to whom, as presumably they need to be important. Still, I won’t get in the business of speculating by offering specific possibilities.
The Steelers drafted George Pickens in the second round in 2022. He played his first three seasons here, averaging about 1,000 yards and four touchdowns per season. While he didn’t lack for highlight-reel plays, his production did not make up for the headaches. Presumably, if that were the case, he would still be here.
Rather than allow him to play out his rookie contract, the Steelers traded Pickens to the Cowboys. They received in return a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick in exchange for a 2027 sixth. The speculation is that they are amassing draft capital for 2026 in the hopes of moving up for a quarterback.
Many questioned what a final season would look like with Pickens playing out his contract. In hindsight, I’m not sure it matters since it doesn’t seem he or the Cowboys are in a rush to sign an extension. It appears that he wants to play out his contract in the hopes of improving his value for free agency.
For what it’s worth, George Pickens played the good soldier during his introductory press conference with the Cowboys. Although there was a claim that surfaced yesterday that he badmouthed the Steelers on social media, he denied it.
Yet multiple reporters still seem convinced that some in the Steelers organization, including in the locker room, perceived Pickens as a liability. “I think their greater good was that they were going to be the bigger cancer than you may have thought it was”, Kaboly said.
Those are strong words, but we don’t know what happened behind the scenes. The Steelers generally do a good job of keeping things in-house. Previous reports indicate they fined him plenty, and that he showed up late regularly. On numerous occasions, they publicly declared that he needed to grow up. Considering Pickens is no longer here, perhaps they decided it wasn’t worth their efforts anymore to try to facilitate that.
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