Steelers News
Former Steelers Player Tells George Pickens to ‘Grow Up’
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens had “Open F***ing Always” on his eye black against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, but that certainly wasn’t the case. He was held to just three receptions on seven targets for 26 yards. He also dogged it on multiple routes, which Warren Sharp of Sharp Football outlined.
Pickens played just 34 of the teamโs 57 offensive snaps in Sundayโs 20-17 loss to the Cowboys at Acrisure Stadium. Both Van Jefferson (46 snaps) and Calvin Austin III (44 snaps) got more playing time than Pickens did, and the Steelersโ star wideout spent one entire series early in the second half on the bench.
To say the least, Mike Tomlin’s explanation was quite odd and not very believable. It appears Pickens said something or was benched for his poor effort.
โWe just wanted to minimize his reps in an effort to get more productivity,โ Tomlin said. โWeโre just trying to rep manage in terms of the totality of the big picture. He wasnโt less of a focal point in terms of our intentions of what we wanted to do offensively.โ
โItโs no different than we minimize some of the snaps of D-linemen like Cam Heyward. Itโs just about snap management. Thereโs no underlying story, to be quite honest with you.โ
Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis had some choice words for Pickens after Dallasโ 20-17 win on Sunday night.
โPittsburgh need a receiver. George Pickens weak,โ Lewis said as he went into the locker room, via Bobby Belt of 105.3 The FAN.
After the Cowboys secured victory, Lewis ran up to Pickens and got into his face. Pickens then grabbed Lewis by his facemask and threw him to the ground. While Lewis was taunting, Pickens act was viewed as cheap by many.
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.”
Maturity problems have been an issue with Pickens since he was at Georgia. That might just be his personality. Diva behavior is an issue at the wide receiver position across the league, though.
Nevertheless, Sunday night was an embarrassing performance by Pickens on many levels.
Steelers Now photographer Ed Thompson captured Pickens sulking on the bench during the game.ย A picture is worth a thousand words. It would be wise for Pickens to take Starks’ advice. It’s time to grow up. Stop thinking you’re bigger than the game itself.
Captured by the incredible lens of @ThompsonFoto12 https://t.co/9S2oi2YoQY pic.twitter.com/SHFhlGCrPY
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) October 7, 2024
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Pittsburgh.