The Pittsburgh Steelers traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday morning. Based on how things unfolded during Pickens’ three years in Pittsburgh, many immediately thought the Steelers just couldn’t stand to have him in their locker room anymore.
ESPN’s Peter Schrager doesn’t think that’s the case. Speaking on The Pat McAfee show on Thursday, he shed some light as to how people in Pittsburgh view Pickens.
“He wasn’t a disliked player in that building,” Schrager said. “Now, he was late for certain things, and there was issues, on gameday on Sundays with him getting frustrated with the quarterback play and wanting the ball. But, to a man, everyone in Pittsburgh was like, he shows up, he works hard, he blocks his ass off, and he can still play. I don’t think this is one of those things where, he was a total diva, and we couldn’t stand him, and [Mike] Tomlin couldn’t coach him. I didn’t get that read talking to the Steelers people.”
This reporting from Schrager is consistent with what some of Pickens former teammates have said in the past. His fellow receiver Calvin Austin III came to his defense just a couple of months ago. Austin pointed out differences in how the media treated Pickens, compared to him specifically.
Donte Jackson has also come to Pickens defense in the past. Often times, especially with many of the negative headlines that have surrounded Pickens in the past, mostly bad things get reported about him. Jackson spoke against that narrative, claiming that “nobody has as much fun” playing football as Pickens.
Pickens made headlines last year, sporting eye black with an explicit message written on it. That was something the coaching staff had to answer for, as well as Pat Freiermuth.
However, Freiermuth was quick to come to Pickens’ defense. He claimed Pickens understands that “this is a team sport.”
At the end of the day, certain players end up in the eye of the media. Few have been in that eye more often than George Pickens over the last three years.
With that said, nobody is going to understand him better than his teammates. Schrager’s reporting here is in line with several statements from other players in the locker room over the past year. Considering his contract situation and DK Metcalf’s presence on the roster, there still is logic behind making the trade. It doesn’t seem like Pickens’ attitude had as much to do with it, though.
