There is no getting around the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers lost talent this morning when they traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. But could they have taken a step towards restoring order to a chaotic situation on offense over the last few years?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo thinks this is a classic case of addition by subtraction.
“The way I look at it, addition by subtraction. Yeah, you’re losing a talented receiver, but you’re a eliminating a big headache from your organization and your locker room as well,” he said via 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show.
If you can recall just two seasons ago, Mike Tomlin had to hold a mid-week press conference (which he almost never does) to address some of the spiraling media narratives surrounding George Pickens after a low-effort play against the Indianapolis Colts. He didn’t block for Jaylen Warren near the goal line and then said some conflicting things about whether or not he had spoken to Tomlin about that play at the time.
I don’t know how fair it is to say he was an issue in the locker room. Several of his teammates went to bat for Pickens in recent years, defending him being a good teammate and calling him misunderstood.
On the other hand, showing up late to meetings and games sends the wrong message. Especially when you are one of the veterans in the room. And that blocking incident in 2023 certainly didn’t help. The number of small incidents on and off the field added up to create a legitimate problem for the Steelers. There is a reason they traded a second-round pick for DK Metcalf and then gave him a five-year contract worth $150 million.
It’s hard to envision the loss of Pickens being an “addition” in any way when it comes to 2025 success. But they were never going to give him a second contract, and it’s best to have extracted trade value while they still could.
“This is a team that was probably gonna struggle to contend anyway,” Fittipaldo said. “I think it’ll be better for the locker room. I’m totally fine with them getting a three for George Pickens.”
Say what you want about Mike Tomlin as a coach, but he has kept some big personalities mostly in check over the years. If Tomlin no longer wanted to deal with Pickens, then that says something.
In terms of team culture and any semblance of the “Steeler Way” that still remains, moving on from Pickens could end up being addition by subtraction in the end. Just don’t expect that to pay off right away.
