Third-year Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens finds himself facing quite a bit of turmoil thanks to his own doing after an explicit message was written on his eye black on Sunday Night Football coupled with questions about his effort and maturity following the Steelers’ loss to the Cowboys.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin kept his comments tight-lipped and deferred to private conversations Tuesday regarding Pickens and his behavior, which is yet another example of Pickens being a problem for the Steelers.
On Wednesday fourth-year tight end Pat Freiermuth stated to reporters that teammates just have to support Pickens through the ups and the downs and that he knows the receiver’s frustration and outbursts come from a well-meaning place.
“You know, you just gotta be there for him as much as you can, understand where he is coming from. It’s not out of a bad place. He obviously wants to help us win as much as he can,” Freiermuth said Wednesday, according to video via Yardbarker’s Aaron Becker on Twitter. “And he’s a great talent. So, we have to understand that as everyone and be there for him. But at the end of the day, he also has to understand this is a team sport — and he does. We’ve talked about that.
“He’s practicing hard. He’s doing all the right things. He’s been in a great mood this week, so he understands what he needs to do. We all understand what we need to do as an offense.”
Following Pickens’ antics in Week 5 against the Cowboys, there were some concerns and speculation from analysts and reporters that teammates might start to turn on Pickens, fed up with him and his act entirely.
Based on Freiermuth’s comments that doesn’t seem to be the case when it comes to the 23-year-old receiver. He’s still young, learning and continuing to mature. It’s not going to be perfect, and the antics are frustrating.
But there is no denying his talent and what he brings to the Steelers.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard the frustration and the antics from Pickens come from a good place, that of being one who is a competitor and wants to win at all costs. That’s a good thing, but he has to learn to channel his emotions because these outbursts aren’t helping the team, especially when teammates are asked about it by reporters.
It’s good to hear that he’s in a good mood this week and is doing all the right things. Bringing in wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni was expected to help with that, and it sure sounds like that’s the case.
Now, Pickens needs to have a bounce-back week. If he’s doing all the right things and is in a good mood, that bounce back should occur Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. It helps that guys are seemingly rallying around him.
