Wide receiver George Pickens was the subject of trade rumors for months before the Pittsburgh Steelers shipped the mercurial wide receiver to the Dallas Cowboys ahead of this past weekend.
Nevertheless, longtime Steelers defensive lineman and team captain Cameron Heyward insisted on the latest edition of his "Not Just Football with Cam Heyward" podcast that he "didn't know anything about" the Steelers making Pickens available to other clubs this spring.
"Was I surprised? Yeah," Heyward said about the Pickens trade, as shared by Josh Carney of Steelers Depot. "But you know, the game is the game, and I know it benefits both teams. We get another third-round pick. They get a wide receiver to go along with CeeDee Lamb. Would I have liked to see George and [DK Metcalf] play together? Yeah, but hopefully there's something in the works."
Specifically, Pittsburgh sent Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round draft pick to Dallas for a 2026 third-round selection and a 2027 fifth-round choice. The Steelers signing Metcalf to a five-year deal worth $150M to acquire him from the Seattle Seahawks earlier this offseason made it easier for Pittsburgh to get rid of Pickens, with the 24-year-old in the final year of his rookie contract.
While Steelers players previously defended Pickens, it's now clear that at least some members of the Pittsburgh locker room viewed this transaction as an addition-by-subtraction move. Pickens allegedly showed up late for Pittsburgh's Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs this past December, and Steelers insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealed on Monday that the 2022 second-round pick was guilty of a "litany of violations" while with Pittsburgh.
Stories have indicated that the Steelers could target Allen Lazard of the New York Jets or Romeo Doubs of the Green Bay Packers to replace Pickens. Both Lazard and Doubs have experience catching passes thrown by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who reportedly could sign with Pittsburgh at any point between the second Tuesday of May and the end of the team's mandatory minicamp on June 12.
"This is a PSA for all Steeler fans," Heyward added during the podcast. "Don't panic. Stay patient. We'll get to work. I think sometimes we can jump off the ship and think the ship is sinking. We got work to do. And, you know, whoever won the offseason isn't gonna win the regular season, is not gonna win the Super Bowl. So, I'm locked in on that, locked in on having a good year and I hope my teammates are, too."
Asking fans not to "panic" when longtime backup Mason Rudolph is set to enter the season as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback could be a waste of time for anybody associated with the Steelers. Then again, perhaps Heyward understands that Rodgers will be walking into the team facility as its temporary QB1 sooner rather than later.
