There must be something in the Pittsburgh water that wide receivers are drinking.
The Athletic reported Tuesday that George Pickens was late to the Steelers’ Christmas Day game against the Chiefs, not arriving to Acrisure Stadium until after coach Mike Tomlin had submitted his inactive list.
Tomlin reportedly told players to be at the home stadium at least two hours before kickoff and Pickens did not arrive until an hour and 25 minutes prior to game time.
The Steelers’ coach was asked about this report Tuesday and said he “can’t answer definitively” whether Pickens was indeed late to the game, according to NFL Network.
Pickens received a usual snap count (91 percent) and target share (seven) in the 29-10 loss.
He corralled just three of those balls for 50 yards.
Pickens has had a bumpy at times tenure with the team and things potentially could be reaching a breaking point.
When asked after Saturday’s season-ending loss to the Ravens if he believed in the team’s offensive progress, the star receiver simply said “nah.”
On Dec. 2, Tomlin criticized Pickens’ maturity, saying that he needed to “grow up” after a 44-38 win over the Bengals.
“He’s just gotta grow up, man,” Tomlin said in his postgame press conference. “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 was also fined $10,231 in October for writing profanity on his eye black prior to getting into a shoving match with Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II.
He’s just one of many receivers in Steeler lore under Tomlin who have dealt with personality issues that have hindered their career.
Diontae Johnson was traded to the Panthers after five season in Pittsburgh marred by complaints about his quarterbacks and a famous 2023 fumble in which he stood by as the Bengals recovered it, unhindered.
Johnson was since traded from Carolina to the Ravens, who released him, only for him to be picked up and again waived by the Texans.
Antonio Brown’s well-documented exit from Pittsburgh involved an argument with QB Ben Roethlisberger and skipped practices before being traded to the Raiders — beginning a troublesome stint with the then Oakland-based franchise — who released him before he ever played a game.
He went on to play with New England and Tampa Bay, though his career came to a halt when he took off his jersey and jogged off the field mid-game while playing the Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Other past Steelers receivers such as Chase Claypool, Martavis Bryant and Cam Sutton were either outright suspended at some point in their career or told to stay away from the team.
Pickens is going into the final year of his rookie contract and the Steelers could opt to mull their options with the 2022 second-round draft pick.
