The Pittsburgh Steelers have been active throughout the 2025 offseason, and the roster is going to look significantly different than it did in 2024. Aaron Rodgers will be lining up under center in Pittsburgh, while his top wide receiver is going to be DK Metcalf. The Steelers acquired him from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for draft compensation, and the organization immediately signed him to an extension. After acquiring Metcalf, Pittsburgh eventually dealt George Pickens as he was sent to the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens had some trouble maturing in Pittsburgh, and he will more than likely benefit from a change of scenery.
There was a point in time where it seemed like Pickens and Metcalf were going to be playing together in Pittsburgh. Metcalf was acquired right before the start of free agency, and Pickens was held onto all the way through the 2025 NFL Draft. It was originally thought that if he were going to be traded, it would have been leading up to the event, or during the event. He wound up being moved near the beginning of May, and NFL insider Adam Caplan was on FOX Sports Radio on Monday where he shared that Pittsburgh decided to be done with Pickens at the end of the 2024 season.
"They made a decision, at the end of the 2024 season, that they knew that they were not going to extend George Pickens' contract," Caplan explained. "There was no way this would work with Pickens, they felt. And they were going to move him for whatever they could get, the best they could get. And Dallas was very interested and they made that work."
Pittsburgh had every reason to think that trading Pickens was going to be the franchise's best option. He has been nothing but a distraction to his team at times, and he had some bad performances down the stretch of the 2024 season. Going into a contract year, the best move for the Steelers was to trade him in order to receive some draft compensation.
Fans were excited after acquiring Metcalf, because theoretically, he and Pickens would be one of the better receiving duos in the league. However, it quickly became clear that the Steelers had no intention of putting both players on the field together. Pickens was traded to Dallas, which put the Steelers in a similar situation to what they were in ahead of the 2024 season. Caplan spoke more about the situation in Pittsburgh, and he shared that the organization viewed Metcalf as a replacement.
"They had to get somebody to replace Pickens, and they were not gonna wait for the draft," Caplan said. "By the way, the word around the league was, nice receiver draft, not great. And they felt like Metcalf was better than anyone in this draft, and they might be right about that, so they made this move."
All along, the organization was planning for Metcalf to be the top receiver, while searching for a new home for Pickens. General Manager Omar Khan, the coaching staff, and the scouting department felt as though Metcalf was going to be better than every rookie wide receiver, which is why the move was made.
Steelers Might As Well Have A Rookie Wide Receiver In 2025
Fans have been critical over the handling of the wide receiver position heading into 2025. Metcalf is arguably much better than Pickens, but all the question marks behind him is very similar to the start of 2024. However, there is one reason things can be different, and that is second-year wide receiver Roman Wilson.
He essentially red-shirted his rookie year, and he is expected to be able to make an impact in 2025. Many people are excited about what they have seen from the young player after the 2025 offseason, but he will be someone that everyone is paying close attention to at training camp.
