For the last two weeks, the behavior of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has called into question his character and the standards of the Steelers.
Two weeks ago, Pickens gave the finger to the Indianapolis Colts fans as he ran out of the tunnel in pregame. In that same game, poor ball security by Pickens resulted in a fumble while the team was in scoring position.
Last week, Pickens put a not-so-subtle message on his eye black reading “open (expletive) always” before going on to catch three passes for 26 yards on seven targets.
In the offseason, the Steelers traded away wide receiver Diontae Johnson because he was becoming more of a nuisance than his talent could justify. It really feels like we are approaching that same level with Pickens. Pickens found himself on a pitch count last week against the Dallas Cowboys and while head coach Mike Tomlin tried to justify it, there’s no way this was anything but a punishment.
Pittsburgh finds themselves already short-handed at receiver and now are dealing with this type of behavior from the guy they have gone all-in on to be the team’s No. 1 pass catcher.
