The media can’t quite wrap its collective head around how it’s going to happen.<\/p>\n
But there seems to be an agreement.<\/p>\n
It’s going to happen.<\/p>\n
The drama surrounding George Pickens in Pittsburgh has been impossible to ignore. While his talent is undeniable, the lingering question remains: Is he a culture fit for the Steelers?<\/p>\n
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With DK Metcalf now in the picture, the chances of Pickens being moved have only increased.<\/p>\n
Right?<\/p>\n
The Steelers were already open to dealing Pickens last year, actively listening to trade offers before ultimately keeping him due to a lack of receiver depth. There was more talk of the same around draft time, when we know the Dallas Cowboys discussed the idea of trading for him.<\/p>\n
What’s the latest?<\/p>\n
Conflicting reports, of a sort.<\/p>\n
From James Palmer:<\/p>\n
\u201cHis time in Pittsburgh in a lot of people\u2019s minds is limited, mine included \u2026 It has not gone well behind the scenes between George Pickens and the Steelers and everybody involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
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From Gerry Dulac:<\/p>\n
“I do not expect him to be here beyond this year. They will not give him a second contract. They have until November if they want to trade him …”<\/p>\n
From Jeremy Fowler, with a twist …<\/p>\n
“I was told Pickens, in the end, wants to be in Pittsburgh. Hs sort of flirted with a trade request, but in the end, he loves Mike Tomlin and wants to be a part of things.”<\/p>\n
And even that last one sounds shaky.<\/p>\n
Now, with Metcalf stepping in as a legitimate WR1, Pittsburgh has a stable foundation at the position.<\/p>\n
Pickens, despite his upside, has been inconsistent. In 2023, he posted 1,140 yards and five touchdowns but ranked outside the top 50 in catch percentage (57.2%) … though you could certainly attribute this to some less than ideal quarterback play thats plagued his young career there.<\/p>\n
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From purely a product perspective, watching two of the freakiest athletes in the world catch passes from a player like Aaron Rodgers would be a treat.<\/p>\n
But Rodgers isn’t here.<\/p>\n
And Pickens might not be here long-term.<\/p>\n
Pickens’ frustration with the offense and his social media antics have only fueled speculation that Pittsburgh might move on before his rookie contract becomes a concern.<\/p>\n
If the Steelers don\u2019t trade him now, they risk losing leverage down the road. So to some, the writing is on the wall … Pickens’ time in Pittsburgh may be coming to an end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The media can’t quite wrap its collective head around how it’s going to happen. But there seems to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2055],"tags":[1586,257,2870,7,467,6,520,57,2360,426,7215],"class_list":{"0":"post-23179","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-dallas-cowboys","10":"tag-dk-metcalf","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-george-pickens","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-pittsburgh","15":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","16":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","17":"tag-steelers","18":"tag-the-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114449767849701632","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}