The Pittsburgh Steelers wasted no time handing out George Pickens’ old jersey number. The No. 14 he donned for three seasons with the team has already been given to someone else. Newly signed wideout Montana Lemonious-Craig is now sporting those digits, the team’s most recent addition as Pittsburgh begins its OTA practices Tuesday that run through next week.
The Steelers have signed WR Montana Lemonious-Craig (No. 14), the team announced on Tuesday. #Steelers #NFL
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) May 27, 2025
Of course, Pickens is not Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, or Hines Ward. There was no expectation of Pickens’ number being considered sacred to hand out to a future player and with a full offseason roster, there are limited options. But it’s perhaps a quiet admission of the Steelers quickly moving on from Pickens, a player who caused plenty of frustration behind closed doors.
It’s a similar approach the team has taken to past players. Pittsburgh traded Antonio Brown in March 2019 and assigned his No. 84 that May to unheralded tight end Milan Richard.
Richard never played a regular-season down. Nor did WR Rico Bussey, who donned the digits during the team’s 2021 training camp. He briefly flashed before fading throughout the summer. Last year, Pittsburgh signed RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson, who made the roster and wore the jersey throughout his first season with the team. Brown wasn’t happy upon hearing the news.
Like Richard and Bussey, Lemonious-Craig will have an uphill battle to make the practice squad, much less than 53-man roster. The Pickens trade opened up a roster spot, but the team largely knows the WRs who will make the Week 1 roster: DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III, and Roman Wilson are locks. Robert Woods and Ben Skowronek are likely to join them. For a sixth spot or top place on the practice squad, veteran Scotty Miller and UDFAs Roc Taylor and Ke’Shawn Williams have the upper hand. Don’t sleep on former Los Angeles Rams receiver Lance McCutcheon, either.
Lemonious-Craig’s signing brings the Steelers’ roster to a full 91 players, one over the usual maximum of 90 due to EDGE Julius Welschof’s international exemption that doesn’t see him count against the roster.
George Pickens won’t wear No. 14 in Pittsburgh. Currently, he’s not even wearing it in Dallas. In the spring, he’s sporting a No. 13 jersey. That’s subject to change by the start of the season but No. 14 is currently occupied by S Markquese Bell.
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