For Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens, he enjoyed a strong end to his sophomore season. A pair of 100-plus-yard performances to propel the team to a three-game winning streak. And though he was held without a catch in the regular-season finale, he blocked and was a selfless teammate, happy to get the victory even if he didn’t stuff the box score.
But one report indicates it’s also been an expensive year for Pickens. Per CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones, Pickens has been fined more than $200,000 this year. Most of those fines haven’t been disclosed by the NFL’s weekly log.
From Jones’ report:
“A source says Pickens has been fined at or above $200,000 this year by the NFL and the Steelers combined, a larger-than-average figure for any player regardless of contract status. The NFL has fined Pickens a total of $33,441 in publicly available fines for unnecessary roughness and unnecessary conduct. Team fines and other league fines are not usually public knowledge.”
It’s unclear the split between team and league fines. This year, the NFL has released a weekly list of player fines but those only apply to on-field actions, of which makes up over $33,000 of Pickens’ reported figure. Off-field infractions aren’t listed by the league. For example, WR Diontae Johnson was reportedly fined $25,000 for harsh commentary of the officials following the Steelers’ Week Eight loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. That number wasn’t publicly disclosed but reported by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
It stands to reason Pickens has racked up team fines, too, as Jones’ report notes. His low-effort “block” in the Week 15 loss to the Indianapolis Colts drew plenty of public scrutiny and likely wasn’t appreciated by the team. There’s a high chance it led to a team-imposed fine, though it’s unknown how much that cost him. Generally, team fines are not extremely high numbers that run up to nearly $50,000 like NFL fines can be.
Pickens’ base salary was just over $1 million this season. On the field, Pickens was fined over $16,000 for a taunting call against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16. He was also fined for a blindside block and on a separate play, a taunt, in Week Seven against the Los Angeles Rams
On a more positive note, Jones paints a picture of Pickens receiving the team’s message of being a better teammate. From Jones’ article.
“He’s in a much better place,” one source said. “He’s doing everything asked of him.”
Said another source: “He’s turned the corner and working very hard.”
Pickens finished his sophomore season going over 1,000 yards and leading the Steelers in receptions and yards and tying Johnson for the receiving touchdown lead. Last Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens, Pickens displayed all the hallmarks of being a good teammate with his blocking, effort, attitude, and focus on winning that helped put Pittsburgh into the playoffs. Teammates praised his mentality after the game.
Despite calls for him to be benched or the Steelers to move on from him, Mike Tomlin has stood by Pickens and publicly committed to helping him develop as a player and a person. Hopefully Pickens can take how he ended the regular season into next year along with helping the Steelers make a postseason run, starting later today against the Buffalo Bills. This will be Pickens’ first postseason contest.
