Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens will be a free agent after the 2025 season. Given some of his attitude issues and inconsistency, the Steelers may not want to give him a top-of-the-market salary. Pickens is undoubtedly going to want to be paid like one of the best receivers in football, and if the Steelers don’t pay him, he makes a lot of sense as a potential trade candidate. During an appearance on The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said that while he doesn’t have a sense of what the Steelers are thinking, his feeling being around the team is that Pickens will be traded this offseason.
“I don’t have a great sense on what the Steelers are thinking right now. I think they’re still going through that process. It feels like he’s gonna get traded. Just being around that team, being in the locker room, seeing how he interacts with players and coaches, it feels like maybe this thing has run its course.”
Fittipaldo said that maybe if the Steelers add another receiver, they can sell Pickens on the idea that he might be more productive and he’ll change his attitude. But the fact that it hasn’t happened yet makes it hard to think it will suddenly happen.
“It feels to me like maybe something will happen in March, or more than likely April before the draft.”
If the Steelers do trade Pickens, it would be ideal if they could acquire draft capital in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. With free agency beginning in March, it would make sense for the Steelers to survey the market as team’s needs become clearer and look to deal Pickens at some point in late March or April.
It would bring the end to a frustrating three-year tenure, where Pickens displayed tons of talent but also frustrated with his attitude and on-field antics. Just this season alone, that included ripping his helmet off against the Chiefs, ripping the helmet off Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis after a Week 5 loss and getting into a scuffle with Cleveland Browns CB Greg Newsome II after a Week 12 loss. He also wasn’t as consistent as a true No. 1 receiver should be, and while Pittsburgh’s lack of talented receiver options besides him could also be a factor, he’s just never seemed to put it all together with the Steelers.
If the team won’t commit to paying him long-term, moving on makes the most sense and looking to add to the receiver room to replace him through the draft and free agency. While it’s not a guarantee, Fittipaldo isn’t the first one to put it out there. At this point, it feels more likely than not that George Pickens gets dealt.
