Just two weeks after getting into a postgame scuffle on the game’s final play, a Hail Mary from quarterback Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens may have again ignited bad blood between himself and Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II.
Speaking with reporters Friday ahead of the Week 14 matchup with the Browns at Acrisure Stadium, Pickens was asked about Newsome’s “fake tough guy” comment after the Browns’ win in Week 12.
“I don’t even know who that is,” Pickens said of Newsome, according to video via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
Well then.
Of course George Pickens knows who Newsome is. He knows the guy he got into a scuffle with, and he undoubtedly heard or read the comments that Newsome said about him after the game. But Pickens’ comment will turn up the heat even further.
It’s like that line from Mad Men where Don Draper says, “I don’t think about you at all” before getting off the elevator after the colleague says he feels bad for Draper.
That’s Pickens in this situation. Newsome is out of sight, out of mind. At least for now. That will change on Sunday once the two square off against each other again, which could lead to fireworks.
After the Nov. 21 game in which the Browns beat the Steelers and Newsome got the better of Pickens on the game’s final play, Newsome posted on Twitter “Fake tough guy” with a laughing emoji, that was likely aimed at Pickens.
Then, in his session with the media, Newsome had choice words that were probably directed at Pickens more than anyone.
“I don’t think they respected us,” Newsome said in a video posted by 92.3 The Fan’s Daryl Ruiter on Twitter. “I don’t think a lot of teams respected us, so for us to come out here on Thursday Night Football and get a win was huge for us.”
