The Steelers have a tradition of winning Super Bowls.
It’s getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.
They also have a tradition of crackpot wide receivers.
That custom is alive and well.
George Pickens is at the front of that line. The Steelers have no legit gripe. They knew exactly what he was when they drafted Pickens from Georgia in 2022. Red flags were plentiful.
But now the situation seems likely to boil over, and the Steelers are responsible for giving Pickens leverage while weakening their team.
Pickens played a career-low 34 of 58 snaps in this past Sunday’s loss to Dallas. That’s 59%. That’s less than Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III, aka Van Halen and Kenny the Kangaroo.
So Pickens got benched. Kind of. But not really.
Coach Mike Tomlin explained it as “snap management.” But Pickens is 23. He’s not creaky like Cam Heyward, who’s 35. Pickens needs targets, not rest. The NFL’s top receivers routinely play 90% of their team’s offensive snaps.
Some sort of half-hearted disciplinary measure seems more likely.
Pickens has reportedly shown up late for work on several occasions. He generally cops a crap attitude. His “open (bleeping) always” eye-black tape confirms. (Except he got the words backward. Which confirms something about his literacy. Or he talks like Yoda.)
But playing less doesn’t send a message. Taking away Pickens’ helmet would send a message. (Whether he’d receive that message is another question.)
But the Steelers have the worst group of wide receivers in the NFL. Making Pickens inactive would take away their only legit option.
It all started when the Steelers dealt wideout Diontae Johnson to Carolina with no concrete plan to replace him. They fumbled around with Brandon Aiyuk, but Aiyuk stayed in San Francisco.
Johnson was traded in a fit of pique because he copped a crap attitude. (But not as bad as Pickens’.)
Johnson has 23 catches, as many as Pickens. He’s scored two touchdowns to Pickens’ none.
With Johnson gone, the Steelers’ offense is lots worse. Pickens has more sway. He can’t be benched, not totally. Pickens isn’t just the main guy. He’s the only guy. Trading Johnson but not adequately replacing him is inexcusable.
That leads us to the excrement show the Steelers currently find themselves in with Pickens. (Which might have happened anyway.)
It’s bad roster management by GM Omar Khan. It’s bad coaching by Tomlin.
Pickens will probably get a full complement of snaps at Las Vegas on Sunday. If offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is smart, Pickens will get targeted early and often, thus getting his head in the game. (Ben Roethlisberger suggested that on his podcast. It’s only common sense, but that can be in short supply with the Steelers. Roethlisberger could be offensive coordinator, but I wouldn’t wish that on somebody I like.)
But that just papers over the cracks. Pickens will act out even worse. It’s not if. It’s when.
Then the Steelers will really wish they hadn’t traded Johnson.
Pickens has a wide berth. The Steelers have only themselves to blame. Pickens could insult Tomlin personally on his eye-black tape. Tomlin would just pretend he didn’t see that, either.