Here's an excerpt from my latest TribLive.com column:
Wideout George Pickens isn’t very bright and lacks accountability. He had 74 yards receiving at Cincinnati but gave back 30 via unsportsmanlike conduct flags. The Steelers need to draft a receiver, find another in free agency and ditch Pickens in the offseason. His contract expires after the 2025 campaign, but extending him for big money would be stupid. Pickens’ idiocy too often undoes his ability. (Pickens can’t be a lame duck on an expiring contract next season. He’d go totally cuckoo.)
Mike Tomlin said Pickens needs to “grow up” but also said Pickens “has a target on his back.” Tomlin should note Pickens put that target there himself. It hurts the Steelers. Pickens got illegally wrenched to the turf prior to Cincinnati’s first-quarter pick-6 but no call. Pickens is a proven pain in the backside that won’t get an officiating break. Which further dilutes what Pickens does.
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The Steelers have a history with diva wide receivers. To be fair, they're plentiful throughout football. What is it about that position?
Antonio Brown was the original. JuJu Smith-Schuster was the vanilla version. Chase Claypool was the crappy model. Now it's Pickens, after Brown the second most talented in this lineage. AB Jr. Jr. Jr.
You don't win with guys like that. The Steelers didn't win with Brown. They won't win with Pickens.
The Steelers got Pickens with a second-round pick in the 2022 draft. Maybe his undeniable talent would fetch that in a trade this coming offseason.
Pickens has got to go. He's a ticking time bomb.
Photo: Joe Sargent / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
