Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens claims he forced a trade out of Pittsburgh. In a now-deleted post, Pickens went back and forth with a fan, where he blasted the Steelers for the trade and revealed the team was fine keeping him before they moved him.
Brandon James Wallace posted a history of Pickens’ actions with the Steelers, dating back to Georgia, on Pickens’ transgressions.
“Lmao, I play for the Cowboys. Now stop reminiscing, bro,” Pickens said. “And trying to justify the trade, y’all just lost another good player to fake reports like this one.”
A fan responded telling Pickens he was the problem, and his latest response, which is now deleted, says he forced the trade.
"I forced buddy. They were gladly keeping me … have a nice day and a blessed one my guy," Pickens wrote.
George Pickens Twitter
George Pickens goes back and forth with a fan on X, via Brendan Howe of Steelers NowSteelers Now
Pickens had previously said he never forced a trade in his first press conference with the Dallas Cowboys, including the comment that it was ‘out of my control.’
“This game is just as much of a business as it is football,” Pickens said. “It was kind of out of my control. I’m just glad to be here in Dallas and continue the winning culture that they have.”
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.
He averaged 15.3 yards per reception with 59 receptions for 900 yards on the year. In each of the last two seasons, Pickens has eclipsed 15 yards per catch and 900 yards as the focus of the team’s passing offense.