Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens might have to surrender his black and gold jersey for another one. Following a strenuous season, rumors swirled about Pickens possibly getting traded, and some fans weren’t shocked. Last year, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin commented on Pickens’ attitude after he was penalized for unsportsmanlike behavior.
“He’s just gotta grow up, man,” Tomlin said in a post-game press conference in December 2024. “It’s an emotional game. These divisional games are big. He’s got a target on his back because he’s George. He understands that. But he’s gotta grow up, and he’s gotta grow up in a hurry.”
Quarterback Russell Wilson agreed with his coach and noted that his then-teammate was “learning it as we go.”
BREAKING: Steelers to trade WR George Pickens to the Cowboys. (via @rapsheet, @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/Eh9kMstOPu
— NFL (@NFL) May 7, 2025
“And I just think that you just got to understand that when you’re at one of the best receivers in the world, everybody’s going to have their eyes on you, and just you got to understand that just to stay neutral, stay poised in those moments and still bring excitement,” Wilson pointed out about Pickens. “I was telling him on the sideline when you’re one of the best in the world, you expect to make those plays, and you don’t need to do anything extra necessarily. … He’s got to be smarter, too, though, and he’s going to do that.”
Below, get an update on whether or not Pickens was traded by the Steelers.
Pickens, 24, is an Alabama native, and he is the younger brother of the Oakland Raiders’ Chris Humes. Though he was initially set to play football with Auburn University, Pickens later committed to the University of Georgia and played for the Bulldogs.
In 2022, Pickens began his NFL career with the Steelers.
