Death, taxes and the Pittsburgh Steelers dealing with difficult receivers. All three are certainties, at least as of the past decade and a half. Mike Tomlin hopes to have put a stop to the string of stressful wideouts by trading for DK Metcalf this offseason — and shipping George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys.
Metcalf spent the first six seasons of his career as the Seattle Seahawks’ primary target. Aaron Rodgers will likely be looking his way often this upcoming campaign. But before that hopefully harmonious battery hits the field, let’s rank the succession of trainwrecks the Steelers have dealt with at the receiver spot.
1. Antonio Brown’s star burns too bright
Brown was maybe a season away from becoming the Steelers’ all-time most prolific pass-catcher. He tortured defenses during his nine-year tenure with the team, posting seven 1,000-yard campaigns including an NFL-best 1,698 receiving yards in 2014.
By 2019, Brown had grown tired of Ben Roethlisberger shoveling blame onto him. Markus Wheaton, a Steelers receiver from 2013-16, described the relationship between Brown and Roethlisberger as “love-hate.” Whatever the case, his ego clashed with the future Pro Football Hall of Fame passer.
Brown’s star outgrew the team, evidenced by being late to team meetings and staying off-campus during training camp. The partnership came to a head when Brown, who’d been feeling underappreciated as JuJu Smith-Schuster broke out, skipped practices before the team’s 2018 regular-season finale, for which he was held out.
Of course, next came his trade to the then-Oakland Raiders, a tantrum about his helmet type, frostbitten feet and his release before even playing a game for the silver and black. He landed with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, playing one game before being released amid sexual assault allegations.
2. George Pickens pouts his way to Dallas
There haven’t been many receivers like Pickens, who has a flair for the dramatic on the field and is typically morose off of it.
The 2022 second-round draft pick proved to be explosive catching passes from the likes of Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson. Through three professional go-rounds, Pickens has piled up 2,841 receiving yards and a dozen touchdowns on 174 grabs. He led the league with 18.1 yards per catch while posting a 1,100-yard effort in 2024.
So why would Steelers general manager Omar Khan send him to Dallas for third- and fifth-round picks?
“The answer why is very simple — something wrong with that boy. I don’t know what exactly it is that is wrong with him, but something wrong with that boy,” Wave’s Bomani Jones said. “You have seen the plays where George Pickens is running the route, it’s an interception on the route and instead of trying to tackle the person who has the ball, George Pickens is trying to fight the person who had been covering him.”
Along with periodic scuffles with opponents, Pickens appeared not to give full effort on some plays, cut a media scrum short by going mute at least once and became disinterested when he wasn't getting the ball.
3. Chase Claypool wears out his welcome
After being taken in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Claypool looked like he’d be one of the league’s best. He caught 62 balls for 873 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie, then had 59 grabs for 860 yards and two scores the next go-round.
Things soured during that second campaign, though, highlighted by his knuckle-headed first-down celebration as the Steelers pushed for a last-minute comeback in a loss against Minnesota. There was the practice fight with Minkah Fitzpatrick in there, too.
By the middle of his third year with the Steelers, he was chased to Chicago for a pick that wound up netting Joey Porter Jr.
4. Martavis Bryant can’t get out of his own way
Oh, what Bryant could’ve been.
The lean, long-limbed Clemson product and 2014 fourth-round pick outplayed his draft slot, even in Antonio Brown’s shadow. Over his first two seasons with the Steelers, Bryant reeled in 76 passes for 1,314 yards and 14 touchdowns.
During the second, though, Bryant was suspended four games for substance abuse, then was barred the entire campaign that followed. Smith-Schuster’s emergence made the deep threat dispensable, facilitating his trade to the Oakland Raiders in 2018.
5. Super Bowl hero Santonio Holmes banished from Steel City
Steelers fans will always have a soft spot for Holmes, even if only for his Super Bowl XLIII-winning snare. He didn’t kick up any dust on the field, and was productive during each of his four seasons in Pittsburgh, averaging 958.7 yards per campaign.
Tomlin felt it was a good time to dump Holmes in 2010, as the receiver was facing a four-game substance abuse suspension heading into a contract year. He’d also had multiple run-ins with the law leading up to being swapped for a fifth-rounder.