George Pickens’ roller-coaster season with the Steelers took one final turn Saturday, when the star wide receiver fielded a question about his belief in the offense moving forward after their wild-card loss and, succinctly, said, “Nah.”
The exchange began when Pickens, who caught five passes for 87 yards and a touchdown during Pittsburgh’s 28-14 loss to the Ravens, was asked if he has observed growth from the offense across his three years with the team, and the 23-year-old responded with, “Yeah, I’ve seen signs of growth, for sure.”
“From past, the first year I’ve been here, just way more growth, for sure,” Pickens continued.
But then he followed with the cryptic answer to the next question.
Pickens, a former second-round pick, caught 59 passes for 900 yards and three touchdowns across 14 regular-season games, but fines and other debacles overshadowed that production as quarterback Russell Wilson’s top target.
Those included a $10,231 fine in October for writing “Open F–king Always” across his eye black and a shoving match with Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II after the Steelers’ game against Cleveland one month later.
Then, in Week 18 against the Bengals, he appeared to start jawing with someone in the stands — while also earning a $22,511 fine for unnecessary roughness involving the facemask during the game.
And over the course of the season, the other moments that accompanied Pickens’ results on the field started to weigh on head coach Mike Tomlin.
“He’s just gotta grow up, man,” Tomlin told reporters after the Steelers defeated the Bengals on Dec. 2 and Pickens was called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. “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.”
Pickens has one year remaining on his rookie deal before becoming a free agent, and the Steelers will also need to make a quarterback decision — with Wilson’s one-year deal expiring — in the offseason.
Wilson, in the aftermath of their season-ending loss where the Pittsburgh offense struggled again, expressed a desire to return next year.
But after his postgame comment, it’s unclear if Pickens would share that same sentiment about the 36-year-old.
