FRISCO - The Pittsburgh Steelers are suddenly celebrating the fact that he's gone.
The Dallas Cowboys are suddenly gloating over the fact that he's here.
And the truth about George Pickens - "bad apple'' in Pittsburgh or "great pickup'' in Dallas - is surely somewhere right in the middle.
A new report from longtime Steelers writer Mark Kaboly claims that none other than Mike Tomlin wanted the talented-but-temperamental player out of town.
"Make no mistake about it, Tomlin — who has gone out of his way in the past to defend Pickens — is the one who decided that the Pickens rehabilitation project needed to end a year early," Kaboly writes. "The ultimate decision had very little to do with general manager Omar Khan (although he signed off on it, too), and of course it was OK’d by team owner Art Rooney II."
This note comes along with reports that team leaders were tired of Pickens' antics ... and so off to Dallas he goes in exchange for a third-round pick in trade.
Now, if the experienced Tomlin couldn't guide Pickens through his damaging emotional outbursts, how does Cowboys rookie boss Brian Schottenheimer stand a chance?
Dallas does not see it that way.
From COO Stephen Jones via a conversation with Albert Breer come 3 clear things about George Pickens the player and person that fueled the trade.
1 - "He’s just a dynamic receiver," Jones said about Pickens. "Everybody says we’re looking for a (No. 2 receiver behind CeeDee Lamb). I mean, George can be a 1. He’s got that type of talent.
2 - "He’s got unbelievable ball-tracking ability,'' Jones said. "He’s got plenty of juice.''
3 - "He’s a fiery competitor,'' Jones added. "And we love that he plays with an edge, and we think he’d be a good fit for our team."
The talent? The juice? No debates there.
But "fiery'' and "edge'' have wide definitions.
After an ugly two-game stretch in 2023 in which he caught only three passes for 21 yards, Pickens posted "Free me!" on his social media and scrubbed from there any mentions of the Steelers. He later explained the move had "nothing to do with football." Later that year he was roundly criticized for a lack of effort, specifically not blocking for running back Jaylen Warren near the goal line. Pickens claimed he was trying to avoid injury.
He's had multiple shouting altercations with fans at games. He's been fined several times for unsportsmanlike conduct, including last year's game against the Cowboys when he violently grabbed the facemask of cornerback Jourdan Lewis. He has a habit of showing up late. He's now embroiled in a social media issue he says is not his fault.
Said Tomlin about Pickens late last year, "He's just got to grow up, man. This is an emotional game. He's got a target on his back because he's George; he understands that. But he's got to grow up. He's got to grow up in a hurry."
That "hurry'' now moves to Dallas ... with 3 reasons for the Cowboys to believe.
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