Steelers wide receiver George Pickens fired back on concerns that he was malcontent with the team after mysterious activity on Instagram on Friday. In a new Instagram story, Pickens posted a simple message to those who were concerned that he was fed up with the organization.
“Assumptions lol over a picture,” Pickens wrote. “That has nun to do with FB (Football). Y’all need urgent care lol.”
From George Pickens’ Instagram a few minutes ago. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/HYFYhPBNT8
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) November 4, 2023
He posted a story with a character who was frustrated with the words ‘Free Me’ under it. He appeared to be in a solemn mood all of Thursday night, with his body language on the sideline depicting just that. Not only did Pickens do that, but he unfollowed all offensive teammates aside from college teammate Broderick Jones and Mason Rudolph. The last move he would make was to scrub his entire page of Steelers-related posts.
However, he added all of those posts back to Instagram after archiving them. He then followed back all teammates, including Diontae Johnson. He is trying to send the message here that there was nothing to be concerned about from the start and that the drama was all manufactured.
Teams seem comfortable in letting Johnson take short gains while keeping the big-play beast that is Pickens chained down. Of course, George Pickens should have had a touchdown against the Titans, but he took too big of a step and went out of bounds. Since Johnson returned to the lineup against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, Johnson has 29 targets and 20 catches. Pickens has 18 targets and just eight catches.
There have been multiple instances of his teammates talking him through his issues on the sideline over his two seasons, even in training camp. He’s an emotional player who wears his heart on his sleeve at times. So far, Pickens’ frustrations have not caused any noticeable negativity throughout the team.