I'm always cautious about labeling a player a "locker room problem," for a few reasons. First, we're not in the locker room. Even the limited access that media gets to teams is a fraction of the time players actually spend together. We seldom have the entire story of how a player acts in the locker room, and leaks from inside the team should be taken with a grain of salt.
Second, the line between "competitor" and "problem" often gets very blurred; why do some guys get praised for being ultimate competitors while others are branded with the locker room problem tag?
Is new Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens really an issue in the locker room? I don't know. He does play like a crazy person sometimes and should probably stop fighting cornerbacks a couple of times a game. But — unless Pittsburgh is great at covering up what really happens in its locker room — it doesn't seem like Pickens is the problem that people make him out to be.
I will concede, though, that if the Steelers franchise is willing to trade a skill player, it probably has a good reason to. The biggest red flag of this trade might be that Pittsburgh was even willing to make it.
Steelers being willing to trade Pickens might not be a good sign
Potentially the biggest red flag in the Pickens deal is that Pittsburgh was willing to trade him in the first place. In recent years, the team has moved on from Diontae Johnson, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, all of whom immediately tanked their careers. That's a 100% success rate in correctly predicting it was time to move on from these guys.
say what you want about getting rid of pickens, but when PIT decides a talented skill guy isn't worth holding onto, they usually know what they're doing
— nick ercolano (@nickercolano) May 7, 2025
diontae johnson - leaves, falls off the face of the earth
lev bell - holds out, career goes to 0 in new york
antonio brown -…
George Pickens is a tremendously talented wideout who could be a perfect fit in the Cowboys offense. I also want to give him the benefit of the doubt on his "attitude" problems. I would prefer he stops trying to go seven rounds with defensive backs, but I won't get greedy.
Still, the Steelers have a track record of ridding themselves of the services of skill players at the right time, and if Pickens is the latest example of that trend, the Cowboys won't be thrilled.