The Pittsburgh Steelers traded wide receiver George Pickens for a 2026 third-round pick and 2027 Day 3 pick swap, and that was before the team signed Aaron Rodgers.
Yet, the Steelers had pursued Rodgers for two months before he signed just before the team’s mandatory minicamp. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says Pickens’ maturity issues were part of the calculus for trading him, as the Steelers did not think he and Rodgers would mesh well.
“Staying with Pittsburgh-related matters, the Steelers moved on from Pickens for a few reasons. His maturity issues were well-known within Pittsburgh’s locker room and front office. So, the Steelers made the evaluation that Pickens and Rodgers probably would not hit it off,” Fowler wrote.
The Athletic reported that Pickens was 40 minutes late to the team’s Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs, which was after the inactives were released. Pickens was returning from a hamstring injury and was supposed to test the injury pregame.
The second-round pick of the Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft, both he and Kenny Pickett, the team’s first two picks from that draft, never finished their rookie contracts with the team.
Pickens missed three games with a hamstring injury, dampening what looked to be a second-straight 1000-yard season with the third-year wide receiver.
He averaged 15.3 yards per reception with 59 receptions for 900 yards on the year. In each of the last two seasons, Pickens has eclipsed 15 yards per catch and 900 yards as the focus of the team’s passing offense.
