Cowboys' George Pickens responds to controversial Mike Tomlin, Art Rooney II comments

From December through late January, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and team owner/president Art Rooney II publicly said they'd like to see wide receiver George Pickens grow/grow up. 

Thus, it wasn't shocking when the Steelers officially traded Pickens to the Cowboys on Thursday. 

While speaking during an introductory conference call, Pickens publicly responded to what Tomlin and Rooney had to say. 

"Just taking one day at a time," Pickens said, as shared by Todd Archer of ESPN. "I feel like everybody in the world is working on growing on the bettering of their self. I feel like growth for me is taking a great direction in me coming to the Cowboys."

Tomlin offered his original comment shortly after Pickens was flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct during Pittsburgh's Week 13 matchup this past season. That wasn't the first time that the 24-year-old caused a headache from the 2023 campaign up until he indicated after the Steelers' wild-card playoff loss in January that he wasn't optimistic about the future of the club's offense. 

Pickens reportedly showed up late for Pittsburgh's 2024 Christmas Day game when he already had a reputation for being "late for practice often" and for lacking "a certain level of professionalism." It now seems that Pittsburgh's "unsettled quarterback situation" caused him to want to play elsewhere while in the final year of his rookie deal.

Pickens confirmed on Thursday that he did not request a trade before news of the deal broke on Wednesday. That said, the 2022 second-round draft pick is embracing a fresh start as he hopes to eventually secure a multi-year commitment from Dallas or a different club. 

"I can't really change anyone's opinion [of] me personally. Just like I said, continue to grow," Pickens added. "I feel like everybody in the world has to grow. You get older and older as you grow. Like I said, I'm just trying to build a winning culture, which they already have at the Cowboys. I'm just glad to be joining it."

Pickens insisted he is "not really thinking about contract talks" heading into his first training camp as a Dallas player. If he proves to be little more than a one-year rental for the Cowboys, Tomlin and Co. will likely feel they won this trade regardless of what happens during the 2025 season.