With George Pickens’ contract set to expire in 2026, many are wondering what the future could hold for the Steelers receiver.
On his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger shared his opinion on how to handle the Pickens situation:
“You either sign him to a long-term deal and give him a bunch of money. You let him play this year—you franchise him—then he’s gone, so you have two years with him. You trade him, because right now is the only time that he’s worth anything. Next year he’s on his last deal anyway.”
However, there would be a massive problem at the WR1 and WR2 positions if this took place, as explained by Big Ben:
“Now the issue with trading him is you don’t have a number two right now. So if you get rid of your number one, now you don’t have a one [WR1] or a two [WR2].”
The former Steelers QB concluded this hypothetical trade scenario by stating that the team would then need to sign a skilled veteran receiver as well as draft a top receiver in the 2025 NFL draft.
