With a campaign filled with a lot of drama, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens became a subject of NFL trade rumors even before the 2024 season ended. The 0-5 finish to Pittsburgh’s 2024 season only exacerbated the speculation.
But apparently Pickens has had enough of the rumors. On January 22, the Steelers wide receiver responded strongly to an Instagram post that suggested he could head to the Washington Commanders in an offseason trade.
“These pages are not in the building. Or any facility,” Pickens wrote with one eyebrow raising emoji. “Just stop lying for clicks and views my brotha.”
Pickens’ post was in response to a trade pitch from The 33rd Team’s Tyler Brooke, who proposed the Steelers send Pickens to the Commanders for a 2025 second-round pick.
Pickens to Washington was one of five trade ideas Brooke proposed for potential contenders this offseason.
In 2025, Pickens will be entering the final year of his rookie contract. Because of his reputation as a malcontent, Steelers pundits have speculated that the team will have to either commit to Pickens on a long-term deal this summer or trade him to an organization that will.
Pickens posted 59 catches for 900 yards with three touchdowns in 2024. He’s averaged 16.3 yards per catch in 48 NFL games.
George Pickens Shuts Down NFL Trade Speculation
It’s surely annoying to be a player that has to read countless rumor stories based on nothing but rumors during the offseason. But the NFL is a business, and an entertainment business at that. If that business wants to be in the limelight 24/7 for 365 days a year, there’s going to a fair share of stories strictly formed from speculation.
Dealing with that is part of playing in the modern NFL.
Still, it was right of Pickens to clarify there’s no truth to Brooke’s speculation. Steelers fans and his supporters will appreciate the gesture.
In 2025, the Steelers could use a lot more of that kind of commitment from their best offensive player.
After all, Pickens is largely responsible for the rumors starting in the first place. The 23-year-old did things at the end of 2024 such as walk up to the Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce during their Netflix postgame interviews.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio speculated that that very public handshake was Pickens’ way of asking Mahomes to get him to Kansas City this offseason.
Pickens could show more maturity, or maybe just social awareness, while on the field too. In the first matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, he committed a pair of 15-yard penalties in the 44-38 victory.
After that performance, TribLive’s Mark Madden argued the Steelers couldn’t afford to give Pickens a second contract.
Pickens is a tremendous talent. He’s averaged more than 15 yards per catch in all three of his NFL seasons. He led the league in the category during 2023.
But he’ll have to continue to be a leader as he was on Instagram on January 22 for the Steelers offense to be more consistent next season.
Pickens’ Steelers Future Depends on Free Agency?
It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction, if any, Steelers insiders will have to Pickens’ response to The 33rd Team’s trade rumor. Because most insiders, including The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, have argued or mentioned Pickens could be traded this offseason.
Dulac didn’t report a Pickens trade will 100% happen. The Steelers insider suggested on January 15 it will depend on whether the team can add another elite receiver in free agency.
The Steelers nearly acquired Brandon Aiyuk last offseason. But that deal fell through at the last moment.
Adding a receiver of that caliber could make Pickens expendable. Then again, it might not. The Steelers had some of the poorest receiving depth in the league last season. The team’s decline began when Pickens was sidelined because of injury in early December.
Pittsburgh could be back to square one at wide receiver with the addition of one top wideout and then a Pickens trade.
If Pickens doesn’t specifically ask to be traded, and he did nothing close to that on January 22, then the Steelers could be inclined to keep him at least one more year.
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