George Pickens’ turbulent tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers featured spectacular performs alongside controversial moments that generated fixed headlines.
All through this era, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin persistently defended his proficient however risky receiver.
That relationship has now concluded with the Steelers buying and selling the 24-year-old wideout to the Dallas Cowboys for draft picks.
Whereas each organizations explored commerce prospects through the 2025 NFL Draft with out reaching an settlement, latest reporting reveals why the separation finally occurred.
In line with New York Occasions reporter Mike DeFabo, the state of affairs behind closed doorways had deteriorated considerably, with Tomlin’s famend endurance lastly reaching its restrict.
“However after deflecting usually — and at different occasions, maybe stretching the reality on Pickens’ behalf — even Tomlin’s endurance gave the impression to be working skinny by the top of the 2024 season. It reached an inflection level in Week 13 in Cincinnati. Pickens was flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct — one for making a gun gesture and one other for dropping a ball on a Bengals defender. For one of many first occasions publicly, Tomlin reprimanded his star receiver,” DeFabo wrote.
For a corporation centered on correct cultural rebuilding, these issues proved substantial. Such habits doubtlessly undermines crew chemistry and growth efforts.
Final season offered quite a few warning indicators about Pickens’ maturity. Throughout a sport towards the Dallas Cowboys, he wore eye black bearing the message “Open F—ing At all times” which Tomlin claimed to not discover.
In that very same contest, Pickens noticed restricted motion with simply 34 snaps and 20 routes run. When questioned, Tomlin dismissed disciplinary motives, describing it as “snap administration.”
Following a tough loss to Cleveland, Pickens engaged in a bodily confrontation with Greg Newsome, which Tomlin once more claimed to not witness.
The state of affairs escalated through the season finale when Pickens clashed with followers, requiring teammate Pat Freiermuth to bodily restrain him.
After almost three full seasons of comparable incidents, Pittsburgh management possible questioned whether or not Pickens would ever develop the maturity essential for his or her program.
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