For a brief period yesterday, Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens took down any Steelers-related posts off his Instagram account and posted a series of stories on his account, including one with a meme and the text “Free Me” underneath. On his national radio show, CBS Sports Radio host and NFL analyst Zach Gelb blasted Pickens for his activity on Instagram yesterday, especially after his own performance on Thursday.
“George Pickens has to grow up. George Pickens needs to be a professional. And George Pickens, after the performance that he had last night, it is laughable that when you’re in a really good organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers, that you would post ‘Free Me’ on Instagram,” Gelb said. “It’s lame, it’s unnecessary and it’s pathetic. That’s what it is.”
Gelb also blasted Pickens for not getting his foot down on a would-be touchdown against Tennessee. But Pickens had just two catches for negative-one yards against the Titans, and it seems like he’s frustrated about his role in the offense. The play against Tennessee is one he should have made, as he had more than enough space to get his second foot down and just didn’t, and the Steelers ended up settling for a field goal on that drive.
Pickens has just three catches over the last two games, and for a young, ball-hungry receiver, that’s a tough thing to handle. But it’s also a tricky balance when it comes to reading into activity on social media. It sure seems like Pickens is frustrated and annoyed about his usage in the offense, and his attitude on the sideline on Thursday would seem to confirm that. It’s especially a tough look for this to come after a win, one that pushes Pittsburgh to 5-3 and brings some momentum with a long layoff before their Week Ten matchup. Vibes should be high in the locker room, but now there’s drama over Pickens’ actions on Instagram.
Pickens is still just 22 years old. He probably needs to find a way to channel his emotions better than just going to Instagram and posting cryptic stories and taking posts down only to put them back up, but in an NFL locker room, it really shouldn’t be a big deal come next week. Unless Pickens continues to make a fuss and have an issue over his role, everyone in that locker room should just be focused on one common goal, and that’s getting as many wins as possible.
It helps that there are some veterans who can talk to Pickens. Namely, WR Diontae Johnson, who posted a picture of him and Pickens on his Instagram story after everything went down yesterday. While guys like Cameron Heyward are the ultimate leaders, having someone in the same room who’s likely dealt with the same feelings and issues at times should help Pickens. He’s an enigmatic person, and while on the surface his actions yesterday were just stupid and made him look like a bad teammate, I don’t think it’s going to be much of a story for the rest of the season.
We might hear from Pickens next week so he can tell his side of the story, but we also might not if he doesn’t want to talk about it. But this is a team that’s 5-3, very much in the thick of the playoff race at this point in the season, and I think in the end, the brotherhood of a locker room and the common goal of winning is going to take precedent, and even if Pickens isn’t fully bought in now, he will be sooner rather than later.
