Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has gotten a lot of attention this week, and none of it positive, after his lackadaisical efforts on Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts. Earlier today, NBC Sports’ Peter King wrote that he doesn’t think he would want Pickens on his team, and now his colleague Michael Smith is sharing a similar sentiment.
On his My Main Man Michael Smith show, Smith and Yahoo! Sports NFL analyst Charles Robinson both said the Steelers should explore moving on from Pickens this offseason.
“We have to figure out what’s going on with George Pickens. I would assess whether he should be in the organization another year,” Robinson said. “Given what’s going on with him, I would consider trading him this offseason.”
Smith then chimed in, saying, “truer words have never been spoken.”
“There’s professionalism, and then there’s George Pickens. For all the talent, for all the ability, for all the fire that he chooses to show when he feels like it. Behind the scenes, I think you’ve heard the same things I’ve heard. Dude’s a problem,” Smith said.
There’s been more than a few issues with Pickens this season. For one, his production has fallen off a cliff in the second half of the season. But some of that can be attributed to poor quarterback play and him not being put in the best position to succeed. But his social media activity became a story earlier this season after he briefly wiped his Instagram of anything relating to the Steelers, and his effort on Saturday was an issue. He’s also expressed frustration over his usage in a way that Mike Tomlin said isn’t beneficial to the team.
Smith never said what’s been heard “behind the scenes” about Pickens, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if people in the organization have grown tired of his attitude. At some point, for all the talent he has, he hasn’t proven anything yet in the league, and his act has to get old.
At the same time, I think it would be a major surprise if the Steelers went the route of trading Pickens. He’s going to be entering his third year, and I just don’t know if the return would be worth losing a guy who’s currently the team’s No. 2 wide receiver. As it stands, they don’t have anyone in the organization would could step into that role, and for an offense that needs all the help it can, moving on from one of their better receivers doesn’t seem likely.
There’s no doubt that he needs to have a better attitude going forward and show more effort, but the return on investment of trading him just wouldn’t be there. Unless the issues behind the scenes are a lot worse than we know about to the point where it’s causing issues in the locker room that carry over to the field, I think George Pickens will be a member of the Steelers next season.
