NFL insider answers question about George Pickens’ time in Pittsburgh

The George Pickens trade was quite interesting.

Since the very early hours of Wednesday morning, fans and analysts alike have been sharing their thoughts on the Dallas Cowbooys trade to acquire Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens.

Even after giving up a third-round pick (something the Jones family covets), it sounds like Pickens’ future past this season remains up in the air and could be tabled until the end of the season. To a point, it makes sense. The team has to see how he will fit into the locker room, scheme, and if it’s worth investing more money into the wide receiver position after their record-setting deal with CeeDee Lamb.

It could just be a one-year fling between Dallas and the star wide receiver, but if they are willing to commit to Pickens long term, they will have to figure out if he’s as big of a problem off the field as some have said from his time with the Steelers.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer answered a mailbag question I asked him on Wednesday, providing some additional context to Pickens’ time in the gold and black.

From Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite): From the outside, it looked like George Pickens was a problem for Pittsburgh, but did you ever get the sense he was an issue for the Steelers inside the locker room? A question of if the perception is in fact a reality.

Brandon, it was bumpy, for sure. Pickens can be an issue when he’s not getting the ball, and I imagine that he’ll be in a contract year in 2025, playing for life-changing money after his trade to the Dallas Cowboys is finalized. But first-year Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer’s strength is culture-building, and the hope here is he’d be able to establish an environment in which someone such as Pickens will buy in and thrive.

The guys in Pittsburgh, for what it’s worth, did believe Pickens’s heart was in the right place the last couple of years, even when his frustration with the direction of the offense, or more specifically his role in it, led to emotional outbursts or uncharacteristic drops.

The concern I’d have from Dallas’s perspective is that, generally, when Mike Tomlin says goodbye to a receiver, the player’s issues aren’t resolved. Tomlin’s the best at getting guys on board and managing personalities, which has allowed the Steelers to cast a wide net from a talent perspective for as long as he’s been there (Bill Cowher was similar before him). The flip side is when Pittsburgh’s done with a guy such as Pickens, it usually says something.

Maybe, in this case, that something is clearing the decks for Aaron Rodgers.

Or maybe it’s like a lot of other guys such as Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Martavis Bryant and Chase Claypool, where the reasons why the Steelers decided not to go forward with the player become readily apparent. Some guys are exceptions to the rule. Santonio Holmes had a few good years with the New York Jets, and Emmanuel Sanders became an integral piece of the Denver Broncos’ offense.

One key to Dallas’ success this season is the strength of Brian Schottenheimer’s culture. Breer mentions that some people in Pittsburgh believed Pickens was turning a corner and that many of his frustrations stemmed from his lack of involvement in the offense.

Since coming into the NFL, the former Steelers wide receiver has caught passes from Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields, and Russell Wilson. Outside of maybe prime Wilson, Dak Prescott will surely be the best quarterback he’s played with in his young career. Having elevated quarterback play for any pass catcher can easily silence distractions. Just look at 2023 when CeeDee Lamb was unhappy with his involvement, and how quickly the tone changed after he became more involved and his connection with Prescott soared to new heights.

While the Cowboys angle of this trade looks good, there is the questions that if Pickens was this good of a player, why would the Steelers trade him away? That question will be answered sooner rather than later in training camp, but Mike Tomlin has a history of moving on from homegrown players if they become too much.

Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Martavis Bryant, Chase Claypool, and Diontae Johnson were all traded away or not re-signed. Pittsburgh has a history of developing wide receivers, so if trading away a talented, young player in Pickens was appealing to them, you wonder if there’s something there they don’t know.

The Cowboys must have felt confident in their evaluation of the player to make the trade and believe they are a better environment for Pickens to flourish in than Pittsburgh. NFL Network’s Jane Slater added to Breer’s reporting of Pickens’ frustrations, which are more connected to the lack of production on offense than anything.

Time will tell if the trade will be a success for the Cowboys and Schottenheimer, but Jerry Jones is backing up his confidence in his first-year head coach by providing all the resources necessary for a successful season.