Steelers rumors: Hines Ward advice for Pickens, Canada's future, former Steeler back in NFL

Hines Ward offers blunt advise for disgruntled George Pickens

George Pickens has spent his week creating an uproar on social media. Pickens was largely ineffective in the Steelers' Thursday night victory over the Tennessee Titans, hauling in two of five targets for -1 yard. Even with Matt Canada's move to the sideline (and a better-than-normal offensive output from the team overall), Pickens' frustration with his circumstances has clearly boiled over.

Pickens posted a plea to "free me" on Instagram, then promptly deleted all references to the Steelers organization. Social media shenanigans generally don't mean much, but it's difficult to read Pickens' recent behavior as anything other than open rebellion. He's clearly dissatisfied with his role in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers now have a wide receiver who is publicly disgruntled, not to mention an offensive coordinator who is the focus of weekly fan protests. All that, and the Steelers are 5-3, only one game behind the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North. Only in Pittsburgh.

As the Pickens drama heats up, Steelers legend Hines Ward is offering strong, simple words of advice to the talented wideout. He spoke candidly in a one-on-one interview with CBS Sports.

"You just have to be mindful, be careful because you can't make it all about George Pickens. You've got to make it about the Pittsburgh Steelers and the reason why we have six Lombardi trophies in that building. It wasn't just about one player, I can guarantee you that."

Pickens has since accused fans of making assumptions, telling them to get "urgent care" in his latest IG post. That definitely won't keep all this water under the bridge. The Steelers need to wipe out distractions quickly ahead of the team's Week 10 matchup with the Green Bay Packers. The hope is that Pickens will heed Ward's advice and put the cell phone down.