The Pittsburgh Steelers underwent some major changes this past offseason. That included trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. While Pickens is talented, he had some character issues in Pittsburgh that caused the team to move on from him. However, he’s been thriving with the Cowboys. Pickens has 67 catches for 1,054 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games this season. Seeing him do that outside of Pittsburgh has Baltimore Ravens corner Marlon Humphrey thankful.
“I was talking amongst a little group chat,” Humphrey said recently on his YouTube channel. “Little group chat in which we were like, ‘I am so happy George Pickens is just not on the Steelers anymore.’ I did not know, I think he’s second in the league in receiving yards.”
It’s unclear who is in Humphrey’s group chat, but it sounds likely that it’s other Ravens. Their joy should come as no surprise. Pickens had some big performances against the Ravens, including catching eight passes for 89 yards against them in a game last year.
Humphrey has been on the receiving end of Pickens’ playmaking ability, too. Pickens caught six passes for 130 yards and a game-winning touchdown against the Ravens in 2023. Humphrey was the unfortunate soul covering Pickens on that scoring play, and that likely left a lasting impression on him.
With Pickens gone, wide receiver has been one of the Steelers’ biggest weaknesses. DK Metcalf has been fine as their No. 1, but no one has emerged behind him. That’s hurt the Steelers’ passing attack.
There’s no guarantee that Pickens would be having this same success if he was still in Pittsburgh, though. The Cowboys’ offense is more tailored toward feeding two dominant receivers. Perhaps the Steelers should’ve tried to do that too, but that’s not how they want to play offensively. They place more of an emphasis on running the ball.
Also, Pickens wore out his welcome with the Steelers. He admitted that he made some mistakes while he was with them. He struggled to control his emotions, and he made some immature decisions. While he’s had some issues with the Cowboys, those moments have been less pronounced than they were in Pittsburgh.
Currently, that trade doesn’t look great for the Steelers right now. However, it’s still only been 11 games. There’s no telling what the future will hold for Pickens. Maybe the Steelers will come to regret not making things work with him.
There’s no point living in a world of hypotheticals, though. There are too many other variables involved. It’s unfortunate, but Pickens is gone now, and the Steelers have to work with what they have.
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