George Pickens is putting together the breakout season many in Pittsburgh long envisioned, sitting near the top of the league in yards and touchdowns for the Dallas Cowboys. He is finally on track for his first Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selection, but his time with the Steelers is remembered in equal parts for his one-of-a-kind playmaking and his maddening lack of maturity on and off the field.
Today, Pickens opened up about his football career so far and cleared the air about his time with the Steelers via The Players’ Tribune.
“Everything started off so good, too. I had the one-handed catch in my third game, and y’all know the numbers…But I was still a kid. I made some mistakes. I’ll own that.,” Pickens wrote. “I let my emotions get the best of me a few times, because I’m always riding that line. That’s just who I am. I’ve tried to learn from it and grow while still being ME.”
The first instance I can remember of Pickens being a distraction was him being visibly upset about getting just one catch in front of his hometown crowd against the Atlanta Falcons in 2022. It was relatively benign, but a sign of things to come over the next three years.
That ballooned into him reportedly being late for several meetings and even showing up late to a game at one point. Those were the worst of the known off-field issues, but some of it bled into his play as well.
There were some costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, and a couple incidents of poor sportsmanship at the end of games. He even had one against the Dallas Cowboys, where he was eventually traded, when he ripped CB Jourdan Lewis down by his helmet at the end of a loss.
It’s important to remember that Pickens was drafted just after his 21st birthday as one of the youngest players in the draft class. Those players often need some time to mature, but Pickens’ issues seemed to get worse and worse over his three years with the team. He admits that he made some mistakes, and acknowledged that a change of scenery was needed.
“Now the Pittsburgh media? I admit… I was trolling y’all a little bit. I apologize! But I don’t have a bad word to say about Pittsburgh,” Pickens said. “I can call up Coach T. [Mike Tomlin] right now and we’d have a real conversation.
“What I respect about him most is he always told me, ‘Just keep being you, George.’ It just wasn’t the long-term fit for where my journey was headed, and that’s OK.”
He was dealt to the Cowboys for a third-round pick. Even with just a year remaining on his rookie contract, that seems a bit low in hindsight given his All-Pro trajectory. The Steelers knew what they had in him, with reports indicating they viewed him as the most talented receiver in the game. But he only fetched a third-round pick for a reason. His reputation as a locker room issue was well established by that point.
Despite all that, Pickens has found a way to thrive with the Cowboys. Being benched for a drive for missing his Vegas curfew not withstanding, he hasn’t been in the news nearly as much for negative things as he was during his time in Pittsburgh.
“They did right by me. They sent me to the perfect spot in Dallas,” Pickens wrote. “There’s no drama, bro. No headlines to write…I was meant to get this fresh start in Dallas.”
Everybody in Pittsburgh seems to have an opinion on Pickens. Many think the Steelers should have dealt with him for one more year to maximize their aging and talented roster. With the Steelers still searching for a receiver up until the recent trade deadline, it’s fair to wonder what could have been. But for as much as the Steelers potentially wanted a fresh start, Pickens sure seems to have wanted that too.
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