The Steelers felt that trading George Pickens “made sense for everyone,” but it’s unclear if Pickens is singing the same tune.

ScreensH๏τs surfaced on X of an Instagram comment where Pickens appeared to call out the Steelers, saying: “They the cheapest organization. Ain’t no stacking year after year they gone let them [expletive] go too soon as it’s time Lmaoo.”

But Pickens then denied the legitimacy of the comment.

“Literally on a plane. No service,” Pickens posted to his Instagram story. “Just landed and seen straight lies from Pitt fans. Stop with the AI trying to make a story. I’m happy for everything that the steel city did for me.

“Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there,” Pickens closed the message.

It’s possible Pickens could have posted the comment and later deleted it, but outside of screensH๏τs, there hasn’t been any legitimate links to his alleged comment.

In the alleged Instagram comment, Pickens would likely be referencing the fact that he is just the most recent of a common trend in Pittsburgh, where the organization parts ways with young receivers at the end of their rookie deals rather than extending their contracts.

Notably, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and Juju Smith-Schuster were all drafted by the Steelers in recent years and had productive tenures in Pittsburgh before ultimately parting ways before any contract extensions.

Pickens has now fallen victim to the same thing.

While Pickens and Co. may not have gotten extensions, it’s worth noting that DK Metcalf signed a mᴀssive five-year $150 million deal immediately upon being dealt to Pittsburgh.

Metcalf is entering his seventh season and is one of the NFL’s top receivers. He’s recorded no less than 900 yards in each of his six seasons in the league.

In his three NFL seasons since his second-round selection (52nd overall) in the draft, Pickens has shown productivity as well, tallying 801 yards his rookie season, 1,140 in his second year and 900 this past season in just 14 games.

But with Pickens’ talent came quite the headache for the Steelers.

He racked up plenty of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, often found himself in scuffles and was even late to a game.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin once said that the receiver needed to “grow up.”

This and the looming contract extension are ultimately what led to Pittsburgh sending Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 third-rounder and a 2027 fifth-rounder.

Pickens is entering the final year of his rookie contract.