The two-time Super Bowl champion gives his thoughts on the George Pickens trade.
The fallout of the George Pickens trade is still making its way through the mediasphere. Most recently, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger spoke on the trade during the latest episode of his podcast Footbahlin, where he theorized that Pickens was more of a headache than many originally thought.
“I wonder… is he a bigger headache than we even know?” Roethlisberger said. “Obviously, we saw last year there were some issues. Coach Tomlin kind of came out for the first time, I think in a long time, and kind of criticized a player, saying that he needs to grow up publicly. Was there more headache there than we even know about?”
Roethlisberger adds that Pickens was in the final year of his deal, and maybe the Steelers didn’t see Pickens in their long-term future.
“They had this year left on his contract,” Roethlisberger said. “They can franchise [tag] him next year, but after this year, you have no leverage to get anything for him. So if you know you’re moving on from him, now is the time to do it, and the only chance you’re going to get something for him.”
The two-time Super Bowl champion also added that the Steelers already paid DK Metcalf and that they weren’t going to pay two receivers big-money contracts.
No matter what your thoughts are on the trade, all fans agree that the next steps for the Steelers should be to bring in a legitimate No. 2 receiver. Whether it be a veteran free agent to be a stop-gap, or a trade for a younger player, the Steelers shouldn’t go into 2025 with Robert Woods as their No. 2 receiver.