While the Pittsburgh Steelers seem more interested in adding to their receiver room than subtracting from it, Dianna Russini of The Athletic had George Pickens listed as a receiver she’s “keeping an eye on” for a possible trade. Seemingly, Russini thinks that Pickens could be an option for the Kansas City Chiefs, who have lost WR Hollywood Brown for the season and WR Rashee Rice for an extended period of time.
Russini mentioned Pickens to the Chiefs in passing on the October 1 episode of her Scoop City podcast, mentioning that he would be a good fit in Kansas City’s offense.
“I like that idea of under the rug because you’re right. I don’t think that’s a name that’s getting floated around right now as something that seems obvious. But when you start thinking about how he could fit in the Chiefs offense, it does make a lot of sense,” Russini said to co-host Chase Daniel about Pickens.
The Steelers are currently 3-1, and with Russini also reporting the team is looking to make an “aggressive” offer for Davante Adams, moving Pickens doesn’t make a lot of sense. If it did happen, it would likely be very close to the trade deadline and only if the Steelers added additional help at wide receiver, and the only reasoning would be the fact that Pickens is likely looking for a big contract at the end of the season.
But there have been no other rumors of the Steelers looking to deal Pickens, and the team wasn’t willing to include him in a deal for Brandon Aiyuk this offseason. Russini put him on a list along with Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns, the Tennessee Titans’ DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals. Those names have been mentioned in trade rumors in some capacity dating back to the offseason, so it doesn’t really seem to make much sense to have Pickens on there, but Russini included him.
If the Steelers continue to play good football and win games, they won’t trade away their top receiver. As previously mentioned, the only scenario in which this possibility exists is if the Steelers make more significant additions to their wide receiver room and decide to get value for Pickens now before he is up for a new contract.
Ultimately, trading Pickens this season is not something that anyone should count on happening, but Russini has now put it out into the universe.
