Increasingly, it sounds like the Steelers’ trade of George Pickens was inevitable—even applauded by parts of the locker room. Last week, for example, Mark Kaboly said “the right players” in the locker room were fed up with Pickens. This week, he had even more to add, without naming names.
Appearing on 93.7 The Fan, his hosts mocked him for doing everything but saying Cameron Heyward was one of the players in the Steelers’ locker room who were tired of George Pickens. He admits he thought Heyward might be one, but he didn’t know that. “I was not told who. I know who I thought it was, but I was never told that”.
He did add that he has learned after the fact that there were more players ready to see him go. “There’s a lot of guys in that defense—even the offense”, he said, who were in favor of the Steelers trading Pickens. “There was probably a couple guys that you would be shocked at that I did hear after the fact”.
“They were pretty much saying, ‘See ya’. They didn’t want anything to do with him”.
The Steelers traded George Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick for a 2026 third- and a 2027 fifth-round pick. Selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, he was entering the final year of his contract. The Steelers pretty evidently had no intention of giving him a second contract, so they got what they could for him.
While they will miss his talent on the field, it seems that’s about all some will miss. Of course Pickens had friends in the Steelers’ locker room, but even former QB Ben Roethlisberger admitted there was likely a division of opinions among the players.
Steelers CB Beanie Bishop Jr. was clearly surprised when he heard they were trading Pickens. And, of course, they didn’t trade him until after a draft in which they didn’t take a receiver. But it certainly seems the only reason they didn’t trade him sooner is because the right offer hadn’t been made yet. Would they have drafted a wide receiver if they knew they would get that offer? Well, we’ll never know, will we?
Even though Pickens is no longer the Steelers’ problem, one still can’t help but wondering what the locker room is saying. People are a lot more willing to say what they really think when the stakes are no longer high. I mean, I’m sure Jaylen Warren would have liked for a block or two from Pickens.
So who are the shocking players in the Steelers’ locker room happy to see George Pickens gone? Well, I’m not going to name names—and yes, I’m aware I referenced the Jaylen Warren incident—especially since I don’t actually know anything that you guys don’t know. But if there is a large contingent of players approving of this, it feels even more like the right move. Especially if that includes players you might not expect.
