Dallas Cowboys All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons ripped Steelers wide receiver George Pickens for grabbing teammate Jourdan Lewis by his facemask and throw him to the ground at the end of Sunday night’s game. While Lewis was taunting after securing victory, Pickens act was viewed as cheap by many.
Parsons, who was inactive for the game due to a high ankle sprain, went as far as calling Pickens “sick” for the dirty act.
“I saw him getting into it with J-Lew at the end of the game. There was obviously a lot of frustration,” Parsons said on his podcast. “I was watching that, and I said, ‘This man Pickens is sick.’ You know they are going to hit him with that fine. That fine (is) the worst part.”
Parsons is right. The league will levy a hefty fine to George Pickens. It definitely was a bad look.
During his weekly Tuesday press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about Pickens pulling Lewis down by his facemask at the end of the game, but declined to address it publicly.
Tomlin said he doesn’t detail those conversations in press conferences, but said he believes Pickens has “certainly gotten better” about handling his emotions since joining the Steelers.
Steelers Now photographer Ed Thompson captured Pickens sulking on the bench during the game. He also slammed his helmet down at one point on the sideline.
Former Steelers offensive tackle Max Starks had a message for Pickens after the game. Quite simply, it’s time for Pickens to grow up.
“I need wide receivers to stop thinking they’re bigger than the game itself,” Starks said on the SNR postgame show. “And putting personal statements on your eye black. And then the emotional moments that you go through on the sidelines is not team building. It’s not camaraderie. And some guys need to grow up faster than they are. And in this situation, if you wanna be a number one receiver, act like a number one receiver. Don’t act like a number three receiver in those moments. Don’t shrink in the moment you want the ball.
“You say you’re always open. Show me what you get when you are open. Let balls hit your hands. Do something about it. Don’t sit there and pout about it. Go block somebody downfield and maybe you get to play-action on the next one. That’s a big play. Those are the things that take away from a team when you’re not a part of the team, when it’s more than we in the process. So we all know who that wide receiver is. We’ve talked about him for the last couple of years. He needs to grow up and he needs to show me on the field.”
