The Pittsburgh Steelers have been all over the place throughout the 2025 offseason.
Aaron Rodgers has taken up a lot of the headlines, but the organization shocked the NFL world when the decision was made to trade George Pickens after the league's annual draft.
There is still no clear plan at the quarterback position, but that conversation has been pushed to the side since the sometimes-problematic wide receiver was dealt to the Dallas Cowboys. The franchise definitely got worse in the receivers room with Pickens departing, but it was most likely the right move to make for the team as a whole.
Rumors have swirled about Pickens and his attitude, causing issues within the Steelers' building. Others believe that he is being treated unfairly in the media. It depends on who a fan asks or talks to, but more reports are coming to the surface that paint the wideout in a bad light. It appears as if he was a tough guy to be around in the locker room.
Veteran team reporter Mark Kaboly took to social media on Monday morning to give his take on the recent trade. Via a post on X, he mentioned that he was told that Pickens was not a good teammate, and several players were tired of him.
The most important piece of Kaboly's reporting is the very first part. Significant locker-room guys, who many could believe are top performers for the Steelers, were fed up with the wide receiver.
There was more than just one reason and person that potentially caused the recent trade. Overall, it's not a great look for Pickens, especially if a respected reporter like Kaboly is noting things that he is understanding to be true.
It wouldn't come as a surprise if there were veteran leaders who were tired of Pickens' antics both on and off the field. He had several immature moments on the sidelines as well as when he was speaking with the media. It will be very interesting to see if he can turn his attitude around as a member of the Cowboys, where he will undoubtedly be the second option in the passing game behind CeeDee Lamb.
One can assume that some of the more significant players who were flustered with Pickens were individuals like Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt and Pat Freiermuth, among others. That will never be confirmed overall, but the front office would have had to receive multiple complaints from certain guys if the decision was ultimately made to trade the former second-round pick.
Pickens has superstar potential, but it seemed like his ego and frustrations consistently got in the way of his being unstoppable for the Steelers. In three seasons, he totaled 174 catches for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns. That was without a normal quarterback situation as well. Pittsburgh has never held onto receivers who were causing some sort of issue, and that held for Pickens as well.
What is even wilder about Kaboly's fact above is that Hines Ward is the only one to part ways with the franchise on relatively good terms, via retirement. It has been quite an interesting receiving situation in the Steel City for decades.
Steelers Need Help At Wide Receiver Once Again
The acquisition of DK Metcalf makes trading Pickens much easier to swallow, but the receiving corps is still lacking proven talent. It will be interesting to see if the front office decides to make another move, but it's clear that it was a simple decision internally to deal Pickens. It could even be possible, after Kaboly's reporting, that certain players drove part of that decision-making process.
