New Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has repeatedly sung the praises of his new No. 1 wide receiver, D.K. Metcalf, and every time he has, he always mentions Metcalf's character. It leaves open to imagination what he would have said about George Pickens if he were still here.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, that’s probably a big reason why that situation never came to be.
“His maturity issues were well-known within Pittsburgh's locker room and front office,” Fowler wrote in a Tuesday morning piece. “So, the Steelers made the evaluation that Pickens and Rodgers probably would not hit it off.”
Pittsburgh Steelers knew the Rodgers-Pickens pairing would explode
As misunderstood as Pickens’ temperament can be, there’s no denying the reality that a 41-year-old, Hall of Fame-bound quarterback with one more shot at a postseason run would be the last person who’d want to put up with it. It’s easy enough to picture Rodgers and Pickens barking back and forth after a Steelers three-and-out in which the former Georgia receiver wasn’t targeted.
Make no mistake, Metcalf can be a fiery competitor and has drawn his share of 15-yard penalties in frustrating moments throughout his six seasons in Seattle. It’s just as easy to picture a similar scenario between Rodgers and Metcalf. But at least Steelers fans are less inclined to believe Metcalf would opt to sulk on the sidelines instead of working toward a resolution to get the team back on track.
Pickens’ on-field disappearances were impossible to ignore
Steelers fans know all too well how Pickens’ unpredictable behavior impacted his production. If things weren’t going his way, he was bound to eventually disappear from games. He had seven games as a Steeler in which he recorded two or fewer catches for less than 20 yards, and two of those were complete shutouts in the final regular season contest of the past two years.
Of course, plenty of Steelers fans love Pickens for better or worse and are rooting for him to become a consistently elite weapon in the NFL. It stings that it has to be with the Cowboys, but with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb there to guide him, maybe he’s in a better spot to grow as a professional.