Scathing George Pickens Report Proves Saints Right For Avoiding Trade

The New Orleans Saints clearly need more talent on offense. So, why didn't they pursue a trade for George Pickens before he was sent to the Cowboys?

Early this week, the Pittsburgh Steelers sent Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick to Dallas for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder. That's a reasonable package, one New Orleans likely could've offered if it wanted to add another star receiver with Chris Olave's future somewhat unknown.

Well, consider this note from Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard, who explained why the similarly rebuilding New England Patriots were right not to trade for Pickens:

"Why? Because he's an epic turd who only cares about himself and not the team," Bedard wrote in a piece published Wednesday. "On several occasions, he has given questionable effort and borderline quit on his teams. And you know it's really bad because normally you don't know how troubled a Steelers cast off is until they land someplace else (see: Brown, Antonio)."

Now, look at this intel from Steelers insider Dejan Kovacevic of DKPittsburghSports:

"This can't be overstated, and it's nothing I haven't been reporting for a couple years now: Pickens was a problem. And a half. He was a problem on the field, failing to give full effort on probably half of all offensive snaps, and he was a problem off the field in that his coaches and teammates would then be forced to attempt to police him. Which, as they'd eagerly attest, was a waste of everyone's time and energy, since it'd seldom do any good.

"When the head coach has to assign one of his assistants -- or another player at times -- to babysit someone nonstop on the sideline, to keep him from acting up, to keep him from fussing with fans ... sorry, but that's just clown-shoes territory. That can't even be compared to Antonio Brown, who, for all his gradually accumulating personal issues, never allowed himself to be out-focused or out-worked in any football setting.

"One thing I never heard from anyone was that the Steelers intended to sign Pickens to a second contract. And it's not as if he wouldn't have deduced that himself. As such, there was a very real possibility of a hold-in at training camp, or beyond if it'd morph into an outright holdout. Nobody'd be giving up a third-rounder in that context."

With first-year head coach Kellen Moore looking to build a new culture in New Orleans, the Saints shouldn't be in the market for selfish players who need babysitting. It would be a different story if the Saints were on the verge of contention, but they project to be one of the NFL's worst teams in 2025.

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