Cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. was one of a handful of Pittsburgh Steelers players who spoke highly of wide receiver George Pickens earlier this offseason before the Steelers traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys.
In his latest Vlog, Bishop addressed his initial reaction to learning on May 7 about the most discussed NFL-related transaction of this month.
"I'm like, 'Ain't no way, bro. There's no way,'" Bishop said, as shared by Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. "They finally broke it down, and I'm like, 'Yo, what are we doing?' I'm like, personally, 'Bro, what are we doing?' I'm thinking we went out and got [DK Metcalf] so he could play opposite of George. And obviously teach George some things. ...Looking at it from a defensive perspective, you can't double-team both of those guys. You have to put some schematics around both of those guys."
It's now clear that the Steelers signing Metcalf to a five-year deal worth $150M to land him from the Seattle Seahawks earlier this offseason made Pittsburgh comfortable enough to give up on Pickens after just three campaigns. The Steelers ultimately traded the 24-year-old and a 2027 sixth-round draft pick to the Cowboys for a 2026 third-round choice and a 2027 fifth-round selection.
While longtime Steelers defensive lineman and team captain Cameron Heyward recently admitted he was "surprised" by the trade, numerous reports have noted that certain members of the locker room were "fed up" with Pickens' much-publicized antics. On paper, Pittsburgh's roster is better with Pickens than without him. That said, Steelers director of player development Darrel Young seemed to say plenty when he pushed emotions to the side while speaking with Bishop about the trade.
"'Bro, business is business,'" Young apparently told Bishop.
The Cowboys reportedly hope that Pickens will "grow in a new environment" as the 2022 second-round draft pick in the final year of his rookie deal looks to earn a lucrative contract from a club. If Pickens and CeeDee Lamb prove to be a dynamic one-two punch that Bishop thought the Steelers would have after Pittsburgh acquired Metcalf, Dallas could be viewed as the winner of the trade roughly 12 months from now.
