Following a tumultuous 2023 season for WR George Pickens, Mike Tomlin told the media that his second-year wide receiver had matured while still acknowledging that there was a lot of meat left on that bone. It seems like there’s a 34-ounce tomahawk steak’s worth of meat left on that bone based on some of Pickens’ actions this year.
His latest incident was a double whammy, with actions both on and off the field that were problematic. He engaged in a fight with Cleveland Browns CB Greg Newsome II before the final Hail Mary play was even over last Thursday night, and then proceeded to give the Browns bulletin-board material by saying they aren’t a good team. He essentially blamed the Steelers’ 24-19 loss on weather rather than getting outplayed.
“Why give them that extra bulletin-board material now. Now you’re giving them another reason and an opportunity to get up for that rematch a couple weeks from now,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko said Sunday night via The #1 Cochran Sports Show on KDKA’s YouTube channel. “Mike Tomlin talked last year about how he needs to be a little bit more mature with how he deals with some of the media interactions and for the public-facing comments that he makes. And I don’t know if I’m seeing the growth too much from 2023 to 2024.”
Last year, Mike Tomlin essentially held an emergency midweek press conference. He almost never does that, but media narratives were swirling out of control in the midst of a three-game losing streak and Pickens failing to block for Jaylen Warren near the goal line in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
At the time, Tomlin said he didn’t want to get into it with the media, as that wouldn’t help speed up any maturation process.
“Rest assured there’s a commitment here, not only from us, but from him, in terms of growing as a man and a player,” Tomlin said via the Steelers’ website last year.
Unfortunately, the incident during and after the Browns game are not the only things that have happened this year. Pickens ripped Jourdan Lewis down by his face mask at the end of the Cowboys game and even got into a verbal altercation with WR coach Zach Azzanni during training camp.
To be fair, the vast majority of George Pickens’ issues throughout his career have come when the team is losing and he isn’t getting the ball as much as he’d maybe like. When the Steelers have been winning, he has been nothing but a good teammate. Having a veteran leader like Russell Wilson around has probably helped, especially given the on-field chemistry those two seem to have.
It is also important to remember that Pickens is still just 23 years old. He is younger than most of the Steelers’ rookies, for comparison. Tomlin is also used to dealing with some robust personalities in the wide receiver room. Antonio Brown had a long and productive career in Pittsburgh before things started going off the rails.
That being said, it’s almost decision time for Pickens. I am not sure if the Steelers can comfortably extend his contract this offseason. Perhaps they will wait another year and use the franchise tag following the 2025 season if necessary to force him to the negotiating table.
