This offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers have to make a very serious decision about what to do with wide receiver George Pickens. Despite flashes of elite skills on the field, there is so much baggage that comes along with him, he gives serious Antonio Brown deja vu.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger broke down the options the Steelers have with Pickens and it’s pretty clear it would be better to trade Pickens now rather than drag all of this out any further.
“You either sign him to a long-term deal and give him a bunch of money,” Roethlisberger said. “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,”
Roethlisberger also points out that if you trade away your No. 1 receiver, you don’t have a guy to replace him. In fact, according to Roethlisberger, if you trade away Pickens, you don’t have a No. 1 or a No. 2 receiver, which is absolutely accurate. But between free agency and the 2025 NFL draft, you have to think the Steelers can cobble together a group better than what they had in 2024.
