Steelers on verge of making a ghastly mistake that will hurt George Pickens

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a great opportunity in front of them to get better as a franchise, while simultaneously making a hated rival of theirs worse. Yes, I am talking about the supposed contract on the table for Cincinnati Bengals free agent wide receiver Tyler Boyd. Cincinnati seems to be more preoccupied with trying to figure out the Tee Higgins situation that the Bengals might let Boyd walk.

According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, Boyd has an offer on the table to come to Pittsburgh, but the Steelers' brass won't pay another dime more. They have added a bunch of wide receivers this offseason who aren't as good as the Bengals veteran. Pittsburgh thinks adding Van Jefferson and others will get the most out of George Pickens in Arthur Smith's ground-centric offense. Oh, please...

Over the last three years, Boyd has earned a great reputation as arguably the best No. 3 wide receiver in the game. He has had the luxury of catching passes from Joe Burrow alongside Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase, but the former Pitt star could be coming home to help turn around the Steelers in their attempt to sustain excellence. By being stubborn, the Steelers could miss out on a great opportunity.

Pittsburgh may do a terrific job of drafting wide receivers, but kick the Bengals when they are down!

Pittsburgh Steelers might do something dumb to hurt George Pickens

Is Pickens more talented than Boyd? Most definitely, but he is a bit too mercurial to be a bona-fide No. 1 receiving option on any NFL team worth a damn. It is why he needs seasoned veteran receivers like Boyd in the fold to get the most out of his talent. Boyd could benefit from getting more balls thrown his way as a quality No. 2 option in Pittsburgh, an opportunity he has yet to find over with Cincinnati.

Truth be told, I expect for Pickens' game to go up a notch with either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson throwing him the ball, as opposed to The Fake Slide Diva Kenny Pickett. Pickett to Pickens sounded too good to be true, and it was. For now, Pittsburgh's offense needs to have physicality and balance to get this team over the top. Trust me, this is what Smith wants to do to salvage his coaching career.

Overall, the Steelers just need to cut the crap and start making winning football decisions regarding their roster. Outside of T.J. Watt and maybe a few other guys on defense, this team is just a bunch of guys. There is no reason to put anyone on the offensive side of the ball on a pedestal. They need to go out and earn it. I still think the best is yet to come for Pickens, but go get the dude a running mate...

Missing out on Boyd could come back to haunt the Steelers when they need a big catch in December.