The arrival of Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers played a role in Pittsburgh moving on from George Pickens
The Pittsburgh Steelers sent shockwaves across the NFL landscape when they traded wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. This came two months after the Steelers acquired DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks – a move we now know was to replace Pickens, not complement him.
More details have emerged from the trade. In a recent report, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler writes that the incoming addition of Aaron Rodgers played a role in the Steelers wanting to move off Pickens.
“The Steelers moved on from Pickens for a few reasons,” Fowler writes. “His maturity issues were well-known within Pittsburgh’s locker room and front office. So, the Steelers made the evaluation that Pickens and Rodgers probably would not hit it off.”
I’ll reiterate what I wrote on the day the trade happened. It makes sense for the Steelers to do it for multiple reasons. On top of what Fowler wrote about Rodgers and Pickens not meshing, do you really want Pickens and his combination of attitude and maturity issues in the locker room next year when the Steelers are almost certainly drafting a quarterback in the first round? Culture is such an important part of bringing along a young quarterback – the last thing the Steelers would have needed in the locker room is Pickens and the drama that comes with him. This was a good move for both the short-term and long-term future of the Steelers.