It’s another week where Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens has been in the news and not in a good way. Pickens threw down Dallas Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis by the facemask at the end of Pittsburgh’s Week 5 loss, wore eye black that said “Open Fucking Always” and finished the game with a grand total of three receptions for 26 yards.
Pickens also reportedly has been late to work multiple times this season, and former Steelers defensive lineman and analyst Chris Hoke said on The Joe Starkey Show on 93.7 The Fan on Thursday that the Steelers need to think twice before signing Pickens to a lucrative contract extension after this season.
“If this guy now is making good money and acting like this,” Hoke said, “what’s gonna happen if you put $10-15 million a year in his pocket?”
Hoke admitted it that it is premature at this point, but he said the Steelers may need to think about cutting or trading Pickens if he continues to think that he’s “above the game.”
“You get put on the street, you’ll change real quick. So that’s the thing, is the Steelers, do they need to trade him, do they need to maybe cut him?” he said. “This is premature, but a lot of guys like this, that act like this, that think they’re above the game, which that’s what it is. You show up late for meetings, you’re lackadaisical on the field. We’re just talking in general, players that act like that are players that think that they’re above the game.
“Omar [Khan] and Coach [Mike] Tomlin gotta think long and hard because they’re putting money in a guy who right now has proven to this point that he’s not a Pittsburgh Steeler-type player in terms of effort and playing with sense of urgency.”
The money that Pickens is eyeing in his second contract for is probably more than his production has been worth up to this point. His attitude will certainly be a factor when extension talks come up too. While the Steelers releasing Pickens is pretty much completely out of the realm of possibility, a trade at some point if they don’t extend him is something that has to be at least considered. Obviously, if Pickens can turn things around above the neck, those concerns about his current attitude and any thought about moving on from him can go out the window.
With the receiver market exploding, Pickens is going to want his piece of the pie, and he’s extension-eligible after this season. He’s had issues with his attitude and effort at times throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, and it’s not a great thing to hear that he’s been showing up late to meetings. Couple that with him lashing out on the field by throwing down Lewis and his eye black, which is likely going to get him fined, and it’s reasonable to see why people have talked about the Steelers moving on from Pickens.
If he continues to be a distraction, it’s not going to be worth throwing money at him and keeping him around long-term. The Steelers traded WR Diontae Johnson this offseason because of him not “acting his age.” If Pickens continues to have problems, it’s something they could consider this offseason when they can make further additions to the receiver room through free agency and the draft.
Hopefully, this is the last we hear or see of Pickens having problems, and the rest of the season goes off without a hitch. But given his history, you never know when something may crop up, and if there are more issues, it could wind up being Pickens’ last season in Pittsburgh.
