Steelers' Pat Freiermuth purposefully gave the NFL a reason to fine him in homage to George Pickens
Even when he's not on the field, George Pickens is still impacting the game. A surprise inactive for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pickens didn't take a snap during Sunday's win over the Cleveland Browns but that didn't stop TE Pat Freiermuth from doing his best GP14 imitation. Only, similar to Pickens' recent actions, it could end […]
Even when he's not on the field, George Pickens is still impacting the game.
A surprise inactive for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pickens didn't take a snap during Sunday's win over the Cleveland Browns but that didn't stop TE Pat Freiermuth from doing his best GP14 imitation.
Only, similar to Pickens' recent actions, it could end up costing Muth:
Pat Freiermuth Punts TD Ball into Stands
"Someone had to get fined,” Freiermuth told the media after the game when asked about his decision to punt his TD catch into the stands. “It was a pretty good punt. I was a punter in high school. It was a pretty good punt. It had great hang time. It went to the second level.”
In case you missed it, a punt into the stands was the least of George Pickens' problems last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The talented yet troubled WR was fined over $20,000 for taunting and making a gun-like gesture towards the Cincy crowd, prompting plenty of strong commentary, including some from his own HC:
'He's just gotta grow up," said Mike Tomlin when asked about George Pickens' penalties during the Bengals game last week. "This is an emotional game man. "These divisional games are big. He's got a target on his back because he's George. He understands that, but he's got to grow up. He's got to grow up in a hurry."
And while it's fun for Freiermuth and light work given his offseason contract extension, the move pokes fun at what has become a rather serious issue for George Pickens, and one that has sparked a variety of conspiracy theories following his surprising absence from Sunday's game.
"GP, [George Pickens] was listed as questionable [but] we didn't feel like he was going to be able to play the type of number of snaps that we thought would be worth putting him in a uniform," said Tomlin after Sunday's win. "To be quite honest with you, we didn't want a small problem to become a big problem, and so we put a helmet on Scotty Miller."
We'll see if watching from the sidelines serves as a wake-up call for Pickens.
