Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward believes fans need to be patient after the George Pickens trade.
Heyward, who has preached patience while the team waits for Aaron Rodgers, says the same thing as the team searches for another wide receiver following the Pickens deal.
“I’m sure guys have talked about it, but I think the main thing is, and this is a PSA for all Steeler fans: don’t panic, stay patient, we’ll get to work,” Heyward said on hisNot Just Football podcast. “I think sometimes we can jump off the ship and think the ship is sinking. We got work to do. And, you know, whoever won the offseason isn’t gonna win the regular season, is not gonna win the Super Bowl.”
Steelers second-year linebacker Payton Wilson has some thoughts on it, though. He understands what the Steelers were trying to do with the move: accumulating more picks for next year to either help the team move up for a quarterback or grab another difference-maker.
“The front office isn’t just making moves for this year,” Wilson said. “That’s what I had to learn. They’re really trying to stack year on top of year. Obviously, us being in it, we’re trying to win a Super Bowl every single year. But it’s probably a little different for the front office. They made this trade, ‘okay, we can set up this pick this year, this pick this year.’ Obviously, I have no clue what I’m talking about. But that’s just my way to look at it.”
The Athletic reported that Pickens was 40 minutes late to the team’s Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs, which was after the inactives were released. Pickens was returning from a hamstring injury and was supposed to test the injury pregame.
The second-round pick of the Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft, both he and Kenny Pickett, the team’s first two picks from that draft, never finished their rookie contracts with the team.
Pickens missed three games with a hamstring injury, dampening what looked to be a second-straight 1000-yard season with the third-year wide receiver.