The Pittsburgh Steelers bolstered their receiver room with the addition of WR DK Metcalf, but after signing him to a five-year extension, it seemed to officially signal that the Steelers wouldn’t be extending WR George Pickens. It’s not a surprise, given that Pickens has been a handful at times due to his attitude and behavior, but the trade for Metcalf also opened up the door for potentially trading Pickens. On The Pomp & Joe Show on 93.7 The Fan on Friday, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said it’s “totally up in the air” whether or not Pickens will be with the Steelers to start the season.
Host Joe Starkey asked Fittipaldo if Pickens will be with the Steelers for Week 1, and while Fittipaldo said he’d answer yes for now, Pickens’ situation is murky.
“I’ll say yes for now, but that is totally up in the air.”
The motivation for the Steelers moving on from Pickens would be the ability to recoup a Day 2 pick after trading their second-round pick for Metcalf. If the Steelers aren’t going to retain Pickens beyond 2025, it would make some sense to get value for him while they can.
On the flip side, trading Pickens makes the Steelers worse, and after trying to add a piece next to him all offseason last year, it would set the receiver room back from where it currently is to flip Pickens and leave a room without a ton of talent next to Metcalf. George Pickens and Metcalf could form one of the better duos in the league at receiver, and having two receivers with the talent to be a No. 1 might be needed with the Steelers’ quarterback options looking less than ideal, especially if the team can’t sign Aaron Rodgers.
The other option if the Steelers are motivated to get something in return for Pickens is to trade him at the deadline. That’s easy to do if the Steelers are struggling and if things aren’t working out with him and Metcalf, but if the Steelers are winning, then trading one of their best weapons would be a tough pill to swallow and probably wouldn’t be under consideration. The return the Steelers could get at the deadline would also be lesser than if they traded him now.
Personally, I’m in favor of seeing how George Pickens and Metcalf look together and potentially elevating the passing offense. But if Pickens wants out or isn’t happy about his contract situation, then the Steelers will deal him, and it’ll probably be for the better. But if he can buy into playing alongside Metcalf, which might free him up from constantly being double and triple covered, the Steelers offense might actually be ok this season.
