The Steelers’ official position on receiver George Pickens is that both sides needed a “fresh start.” That’s a nice way of saying, “Get lost.”
Ponder the situation for a second. What team concludes after three seasons that it, and the player, would benefit from a “fresh start”? A team for which the relationship has quickly gotten stale.
For Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, it took 20 years for Brady to decide he’d had enough of an always-grumpy curmudgeon. For the Steelers and Pickens, it took 51 regular-season games to reach the breaking point.
The signs were there, starting most prominently during and after a Thursday night game against the Titans in November 2023. Through 2024, the situation deteriorated.
Really, what team would want a “fresh start” from a potentially great player so quickly? A team that has had enough.
Mark Kaboly, the Steelers’ correspondent for The Pat McAfee Show, has shared some specific details regarding the manner in which the situation went sideways. “Some felt that it would be counterproductive to keep him around, even with his unique talent,” Kaboly reports. “They felt the locker room could turn toxic.”
That became apparent when Pickens provided a pessimistic assessment of the offense after a playoff loss to the Ravens. It became obvious when the Steelers opted to invest the same $30 million per year that Pickens had been targeting in DK Metcalf. With Metcalf as WR1, Pickens wouldn’t have gotten the targets needed to maximize his contract year.
And the word had gotten out. Few teams wanted to trade for Pickens. In the end, it was only the Cowboys who would give the Steelers the third-round pick they wanted. Not in 2025 but in 2026. That made it, roughly speaking, a fourth-round pick in 2025.
Bottom line? The fresh start will happen. The Steelers believe they’ll be better off without Pickens around. The question is whether Pickens will unlock a higher level of performance — and a better overall attitude — in Dallas.
The first tangible test comes on Thursday, September 4, when the season begins with Pickens and the Cowboys visiting the Eagles.
