What were Pittsburgh Steelers fans honestly expecting? Nothing but infinite praise for their favorite team's organization on the way out of the door for George Pickens? Come on! I may have been born during happy hour some 35 years ago, but my judgement has not been impaired that badly today. Pittsburgh took a risk on Pickens knowing all too well he is a lot. It did not work out, so they moved on.
I may be biased in that Pickens and I share the same alma mater of Georgia. I thought him going to Pittsburgh was going to work out quite well. The Steelers have a reputation for being able to corral an interesting cast of characters, especially mercurial wide receivers. As it turns out, their culture was not as strong as they thought. Are there cracks in the foundation of Steelers DNA? There might be...
Pickens likened being traded from Pittsburgh to Dallas as a business decision, one he is good with.
Pickens called the departure from pittsburgh a business decision and he is just happy to be in Dallas https://t.co/LkFedAEqtP
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) May 8, 2025
As you can see, Pickens seems to be pleased with his new place of employment since joining Dallas.
Cowboys WR George Pickens has given variations of the same answer to any questions about his past in Pittsburgh:
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) May 8, 2025
"I'm where I'm at right now. I can't look into the past."
The thing that I keep going back to with Pittsburgh is the Steelers knew what they signed up for. Pickens is immensely talented, but does not have the temperament to be a No. 1, let alone one in an offense that cannot figure out the quarterback position for the life of it. Pittsburgh will move on with DK Metcalf, while Pickens will play alongside CeeDee Lamb catching passes from Dak Prescott now.
He was never going to apologize for what all transpired, and deep down, everybody knew that, too.
Steelers fans did not get the response they wanted out of George Pickens
Look. If you continually bash a guy, why should you expect him to speak glowingly about you in the wake of his departure? I do not expect coaches, players, general managers and teams to send me a basket of fruit or flowers when their time with an organization comes to an end. As an NFL third party in all of this, I believe both teams can gain from the Pickens trade, hopefully for seasons to come, too.
For the Dallas Cowboys, they got the No. 2 receiver they have been wanting for years now. He did not come in the 2025 NFL Draft, but came only a few weeks later in the form of Pickens. For Pittsburgh, now is a great time to prove a so-called bad seed did not completely wreck your football culture. Go out there and prove a franchise that is defined by winning Lombardi Trophies can win more hardware!
Until Pittsburgh either signs Aaron Rodgers or trades for Kirk Cousins, I do not know what to think of the team. They will still find a way to win nine games this season with some combination of Mason Rudolph and rookie Will Howard under center because that is what a Mike Tomlin team does. In the meantime, I am excited to see Pickens go to a team who has a clue what they are doing offensively.
Pittsburgh will still end up with a better record than the Cowboys, but I need to see more out of them.