The Pittsburgh Steelers made a surprising move on Wednesday morning, trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens is another key player from the 2024 season who will now be playing elsewhere in 2025. ESPN’s Peter Schrager thinks the Steelers are starting to ask a lot from their fans with some of their moves this offseason.
“They are now without George Pickens,” Schrager said on Get Up on Wednesday morning. “They’re without Najee Harris. They’re completely unknown at quarterback, and to Steelers fans just say, ‘We got it, hang tight’. I think it’s asking a lot.”
The offense is going to look completely different in 2025. Last year, the Steelers had one consistent wide receiver in Pickens. Now, they have the same issue, with DK Metcalf. They let Najee Harris walk in free agency, and Kaleb Johnson could see the bulk of the carries this year. Even with Aaron Rodgers’ decision still looming, the Steelers have already completely reset their quarterback room.
That doesn’t mean all of these moves are a bad thing. The offense really struggled toward the end of the 2024 season when Pittsburgh lost five consecutive games, including being blown out in their Wild Card loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Given the way that season ended, some change felt inevitable.
The timing of the Pickens trade is confusing, though. His name was involved in rumors during the draft, which feels like a more reasonable time to have traded him. The Steelers didn’t take a receiver in the draft either, which probably would have been a smart move if they were planning on trading Picken. Sure, Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson could take massive steps forward in 2025. Asking either of them to step into the WR2 role is asking a lot, though.
For fans, Shrager’s not wrong that the Steelers are asking a lot from them to sit back and wait. We’re now in May, and the Steelers are the last NFL team that isn’t sure it has its starting quarterback on its roster.
If Rodgers plays football in 2025, his best destination is still the Steelers. Shrager isn’t convinced Pittsburgh is completely in the know regarding the four-time NFL MVP though.
“We have nothing,” Schrager said. “We can assume all we want that he has a handshake deal, and that we know this, we know that. I am telling you, he shows up to the Kentucky Derby, and people in Pittsburgh were unaware if he was gonna announce it there, and he didn’t.”
Coming off the heels of another disappointing season, it doesn’t feel like Pittsburgh has improved enough to truly contend, especially after trading one of its best offensive weapons. The Steelers seem to be aiming to find their quarterback of the future in the 2026 draft. However, the Steelers’ roster isn’t bad enough for them to land a high pick in the draft. They have plenty of draft capital to move up, but that’s a risk in itself.
With aging stars on the defensive side of the ball, the Steelers don’t seem to be getting any closer to a Super Bowl. They just lost firepower needed to truly contend, especially if Mason Rudolph has to start at QB. Yet, they’re not bad enough to truly tank, as some think they should. It really is asking a lot for Steelers fans to be okay with another year in football purgatory.
