Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens continues to play well since pairing with QB Russell Wilson. In their six games together, he has 29 receptions for 487 yards and three touchdowns. Extended across a full season, that would translate to 82 catches for 1,380 yards and eight touchdowns.
But the problem is everything else that comes with the George Pickens experience. And for Mark Kaboly, he believes the Steelers are in a position where they have to make a decision soon. One way or the other, in his mind, Pickens can’t play out his rookie contract.
“Here’s the thing with George: this decision on his future has to be made in the offseason. You cannot bring him next year as a lame-duck guy”, Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan yesterday. When pressed as to why, he said, “He would be a distraction beyond distractions”.
George Pickens is already a distraction, of course, both on and off the field. Whether it’s sending questionable messages on his eye black or taking stupid penalties, he is a handful. There is no doubt that the Steelers only tolerate his behavior because of his talent, a point all but his most ardent partisans are likely to admit.
When you can score effortlessly the way he does—surprising given he only has three on the season—it’s not hard to see why the Steelers publicly humor George Pickens as much as they do. Yet even at times they have to publicly call him out, as HC Mike Tomlin did on Sunday. As has become an annual tradition, he called upon the 23-year-old to grow up in a hurry.
And it has been a communal effort, from the coaches to the player. Broderick Jones, his Georgia teammate, grabbed Pickens and talked to him multiple times on Sunday. Russell Wilson said that he talked to Pickens multiple times throughout the game. But does he care? Kaboly doesn’t think so.
“That’s one thing that I’ve heard from multiple people about George Pickens, is…he just does not care about stuff like that”, Kaboly said. He doesn’t believe Pickens responds to threats about his playing time or future contract. Because he knows he can just go somewhere else.
“I think they’re getting to the point where they now know that something needs to be done more than just, ‘Well, George is working hard and he’s getting better’”, Kaboly said. He added that he believes Pickens cares about himself and his stats, and about winning, and his teammates. “I just don’t think he cares about people potentially threatening him. I just don’t think he’s wired that way”.
The Pittsburgh Steelers did sign Diontae Johnson to a contract extension, and he was less of a distraction while finding the end zone more often. He was coming off a Pro Bowl season, though Pickens may earn a Pro Bowl nod this year.
But the point is, the Steelers decided this offseason they could live without Diontae Johnson. So have possibly multiple other teams already. And they made that decision without an adequate substitute in place. Could they decide this offseason that they could live without the headaches Pickens brings? That will depend on what he does the rest of the year, and how he behaves. But it will also depend on what teams are willing to pay for him.
