George Pickens Receives Hefty Fine from Commanders Game

Steelers wide receiver George Pickens
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens celebrating after a reception against the Washington Commanders on Nov. 10, 2024. -- Ed Thompson / Steleers Now

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens received a hefty $16,883 fine for unnecessary roughness (facemask) on Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 28-27 win.

Pickens delivered a flying stiff-arm to St-Juste, but he ended up grabbing his entire facemask and didn’t let go. It certainly was an unorthdox play, and now Picken’s wallet will be a little lighter because of it. Pickens was not penalized during the game for the infraction.

Pickens’ facemask violation on St. Juste came on the heels of when he went after cornerback Mike Sainristil who attempted to throw a block on him following Jeremy Chinn’s interception late in the third quarter.

Pickens simply said “yeah” when asked if he was certain that he tagged Chinn following the interception. That’s why he let some frustration out on Saintristil.

“Guy tried to get physical with me. A lot of guys like to do that so I got physical back,” Pickens said. “That’s pretty much it.”

Pickens was not fined for the skirmish with Sainristil.

RELATED: George Pickens Explains Skirmish with Commanders CB: ‘I Got Physical Back’

This is the third time this year that Pickens has been fined by the league. Pickens was fined twice for a total of $20,463 in the Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He was fined $10,231 by the NFL for an explicit eye black message and docked $10,230 for throwing Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis down by his facemask at the conclusion of the game. Pickens was reportedly fined over $200,000 by the team and league last year.

Outside of the head-scratching actions by Pickens, he had a banner day in Sunday’s win over the Commanders, recording five receptions for 91 yards (18.2 average) and a jaw-dropping 16-yard touchdown. Pickens tracked the ball in the air and displayed outstanding body control on the touchdown catch.

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