Reporter believes Steelers' Mike Tomlin has mishandled George Pickens' behavior, 'May come back to bite him’
Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens is one of the most talented players in the NFL. Yet to play with a serviceable offense around him, the 23-year-old has only scratched the surface in terms of what he can become in the league. But according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN, the one thing that could hold Pickens […]
Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens is one of the most talented players in the NFL.
Yet to play with a serviceable offense around him, the 23-year-old has only scratched the surface in terms of what he can become in the league.
But according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN, the one thing that could hold Pickens back would be his attitude, and not nipping it in the bud may hurt both him and the Steelers:
Is Tomlin too light on Pickens?
"Honestly, I disagreed with the way that he [Coach Tomlin] handled it", Pryor told Kevin Clark of ESPN's This Is Football podcast. "He came out and he chastised George [Pickens] for how he dealt with the media, at least to the media. He said, 'You know, George needs to get better at how he interacts with you guys, but we're addressing it with him'. But there was no serious punishment for Pickens, which I thought was a terrible decision. And it may come back to bite him this year or in the future because you didn't harshly punish him at the time to prove a point."
Pryor is referring to a series of events that happened late in the season when Pickens avoided blocking for RB Jaylen Warren on a run play that should have resulted in a TD and then had an insulting excuse for media members after that.
But with the Steelers on the ropes and the season hanging in the balance, Coach Tomlin and the rest of the staff knew that benching or suspending him would cost them their season.
"He knew that, depending on how he handled it, he could elicit one of two responses. If he comes down hard on him and suspends him for a game or sits him for a half, you might not get that production out of him," added Pryor.
And Tomlin was right, as Pickens would go on to have arguably the best game of his career against the Bengals after that, including 195 yards and two TDs.
"Now maybe you've created a monster who now thinks that he can do whatever he wants and he rules the roost and there are no consequences," added Pryor. "But at the time, {Tomlin] got exactly what he needed out of [Pickens] for that team, and he was also betting on himself, saying, "All right, I'm gonna do this. It could create this down the road, but I believe that I can manage it when it comes to it'".
We'll see how Pickens matures in 2024.
