WR George Pickens remains the talking point for the media since Pittsburgh’s 30-13 loss on the road to the Indianapolis Colts. Pickens displayed poor effort on blocking for RB Jaylen Warren near the goal line for what could’ve been a touchdown, stating that he could have gotten hurt on the play like WR Tank Dell did a few weeks ago and made a business decision to avoid injury. He also took a shot at the media for trying to paint a negative picture of him, stating that they don’t know football because they haven’t played at the NFL level.
Predictably, Pickens’ comments have made their way from the local media to the national media, spreading like wildfire as numerous analysts and personalities are calling for the second-year wide receiver out of Georgia to get traded this offseason or sat down for a period of time. Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette jumped on the 93.7 The Fan Morning Show on Wednesday to talk about Pickens and his most recent antics, stating the only thing head coach Mike Tomlin could do to try and get through to his receiver is to probably bench him for a short period of time.
“The only recourse he would have is sitting him down, and we haven’t seen him do that yet,” Fittipaldo said on The Fan Morning Show. “I mean, he’s done it in the past with Diontae [Johnson] when Diontae had issues with drops. He benched him for a short time. But for whatever reason, he’s resisted to do that with George here. Could it get any worse? Maybe this is what this guy needs, or maybe this is what this locker room needs.”
Tomlin has shown an unwillingness to discipline Pickens, presumably attempting to control the situation and prevent Pickens from completely losing it by sitting him down for a full game or part of a game. He did bench Johnson for part of the Bills game back in 2020, sitting him down after repeated drops that were costing the team. Tomlin said back then that Johnson responded appropriately to the benching, stating that he didn’t pout and made the most of his next opportunity when he got back into the game.
In the case of Pickens, the issue isn’t a lack of talent, but rather making use of that talent and routinely allowing his emotions to get the better of him. The sulking on the field can get old after a while, but the more frustrating part is seeing Pickens not block for a teammate when he is known for being a capable and effective blocker, having routinely put opposing defenders on their backs in the past.
This Steelers team has been unraveling the last three weeks, and something must change in attempt to shift the culture back to what it’s supposed to be. Benching your most talented wide receiver isn’t the route you want to go, especially if you’re Tomlin and your team is on the brink of playoff elimination. However, the locker room needs to be shown that what’s been going down isn’t going to be tolerated anymore, regardless of who you are. Benching Pickens would send a message that no one is free to act as they please as the benching of QB Mitch Trubisky this week for Mason Rudolph doesn’t carry the same weight due to Trubisky’s poor performance.
There is a chance Pittsburgh could lose Pickens in the process, the Georgia product getting upset and frustrated with being sat down. However, the Steelers need to find out if they have a team player on their hands. Sitting Pickens down for a couple of possessions or a half of football would send a clear message to him as well as the rest of the team that things are going to change, and you have to decide if you want to stick around for that change or not.
