Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers made waves Wednesday morning, as news broke that the team had traded star wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Even though the news itself was breaking, there were plenty of clues that fans could have pieced together indicating that Pickens' time in the 'Burgh could be short-lived.

Immaturity concerns from the start

Coming out of Georgia, Pickens had been tabbed with some immaturity concerns, and those showed up at times throughout his three-year tenure with the Steelers. NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler elaborated further on a couple of incidents of concern for Pickens in his annual draft guide, The Beast:

... had several immature moments early in his career: ejected from a game as a freshman for trading punches with a Georgia Tech defender, and was suspended for a half the following game (November 2019); was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for spraying water on a Tennessee player on the sideline (October 2020).

Some of those concerns, paired with missed time in his final season in recovery of a torn ACL, caused the former Rivals five-star recruit to fall out of the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft before being selected by the Steelers in the second round with the 52nd overall pick.

The "bad boy" behavior continued at varying intervals throughout his tenure in black and gold, and it was flagged often on social media. 

That time he jogged off the field as teammates celebrated Diontae Johnson's first touchdown in 655 days? Yeah, that was a rough look. So was the moment he temporarily wiped his Instagram of any reference to the Steelers after totaling -1 receiving yards in a prime-time loss in 2023. In one of the more recent headlines, Pickens had unfollowed the team's official Instagram account ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Though none of these individual instances pointed to any glaring character concerns, the sum of them all had Pittsburgh fans on notice. Could he be the next distraction the team doesn't need?

One of the more notable incidents coming out of the 2024 season was an on-going squabble between Pickens and Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II. Naturally, there's bound to be a chippy nature to the relationship between any two AFC North rivals; the initial incident between the two went past that. 

In the first meeting between the Browns and Steelers in Week 12, Pickens and Newsome went step-for-step on a Hail Mary attempt from veteran quarterback Russell Wilson. The contact went well past the play, though, as the two ended up in a near all-out brawl that reached the stands in the end zone.

After the game, Pickens had some words for the media about the loss. “The conditions played a huge, huge part in today’s game. I don’t really think the Cleveland Browns are a good team at all.” Not great, Bob. Just days later, Pickens told the media, "I don't even know who that is," in response to comments from Newsome calling him a "fake tough guy." Again, not great.

"He's a guy that cares more-so about himself," Newsome shared after the incident, also citing Pickens' propensity for penalties. 

Per NFL Penalties, Pickens accumulated four penalties, including one for taunting and another for unsportsmanlike conduct, from Dec. 1 onward — a span in which he'd played just four total games due to a hamstring injury.

Though a career-best season for Pickens in Dallas' current regime wouldn't be surprising, it's worth noting that the Steelers have had a sixth sense about when it's time to move on from even the best talent. 

Things weren't all bad, of course. Pickens has shown plenty of upside over his three years in Pittsburgh, and schematically, all signs point to him being a great fit along the boundary with QB Dak Prescott and star receiver CeeDee Lamb working the middle of the field. Only time will tell if that good fit will be enough to alleviate some of the frustrations fans have seen from him so far.