The good news is the Pittsburgh Steelers don't need to sign George Pickens, since they traded him to the Cowboys. That's a move that made Dak Prescott happy. However, a former Steelers quarterback slammed his team for the regrettable trade of the star receiver.
Think about it. The Steelers could have been rolling along this season with D.K. Metcalf and Pickens. Instead, they have Metcalf, but nobody to support him on the other side.
So it’s easy to see why Charlie Batch is up in arms, according to a post on YouTube by the Up & Adams Show.
“They paired George Pickens up with arguably the worst coordinator [Matt Canada] in the history of the NFL,” Batch said. “And I’m not throwing shade. The numbers are what they are. So [Pickens] lost more games in Pittsburgh than he ever lost in his career. And he had a bad rap, and he didn’t know how to lose. And I’m okay with that.
“… Now you’re seeing him showcase in an offense that are now throwing the football around on what his skills are. Ultimately, he’s going to get a huge contract, whether that’s in Dallas or somewhere else, because this guy can flat-out play.”
Are Steelers missing WR George Pickens?
They do have a useless third-round pick, as far as this season goes. And they have a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who’s already well past his prime. He will be another year older for whoever the Steelers bring in at the wide receiver position in 2026 — if he doesn’t retire.
The Steelers bungled the decision to trade Pickens. Some of it had to do with him clashing with Mike Tomlin. But here’s the reality, according to ESPN.
“Pickens is the sixth receiver in the Mike Tomlin era to be drafted by Pittsburgh and eventually traded to another team,” Brooke Pryor wrote. “Five of those players — Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Martavis Bryant, and Brown — were dealt in part because of concerns involving their conduct. But Pickens had other issues than money.
“I think every team seems to have one or two guys in that room that you have to manage them correctly,” Steelers owner Art Rooney II said in January. “I still think George has enough talent that we've got to try to work and see if we can get him to fulfill the talent that he really has. Who knows if we can get there? We'll see. But when you have guys that are as talented as some of the guys you're probably thinking of, you try to work with them and have them help you be successful.”
But the Steelers didn’t wait. And so far, there have been zero problems in Dallas. So maybe the issue was Tomlin, not Pickens?
“I can't really change anyone's opinion,” Pickens said of outside perceptions during his introductory news conference call in Dallas. “Me, personally, I just continue to grow. I feel like everybody in the world has to grow. You get older and older as you grow, and I'm just trying to build a winning culture, which they already have at the Cowboys. I'm just glad to be joining it.”
All of those numbers where the Steelers trade a guy and he flops elsewhere are already out the window with Pickens. He’s on pace for 1,475 yards and 15 touchdowns. The touchdown total would be triple his previous career high with the Steelers. And his yardage total would beat his career high by 335 yards.
Yeah, not good, Steelers.
