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Steelers insider says some 'shocking' names on Pittsburgh's roster no longer wanted anything to do with George Pickens

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Gregson | Last updated May 20, 2025 3:13 PM ET

The more that comes to light regarding George Pickens' time in the Black and Gold, the more you realize the Pittsburgh Steelers had to move on.

Nothing proves that better than what had become of his relationship with his teammates.

A new report, just further adds that key players were done with Pickens in Pittsburgh...

Steelers were done with George Pickens

"There's a lot of guys in that defense—even the offense," Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee show told 93.7 The Fan. "There were probably a couple of guys that you would be shocked at, that I did hear after the fact. They were pretty much saying, 'See ya.' They didn't want anything to do with him."

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Unfortunately, as much as you loved the player Pickens was for the Steelers, the character was a problem. This isn’t a legal matter, rather one of maturity. Sources paint a picture of Pickens consistently being tardy to meetings and practices, lackluster effort in games and during the week, and an attitude and mentality that turns teammates off.

So to hear that 'shocking' names were done with Pickens is no surprise. I can't imagine that players like T.J. Watt, or Cam Heyward, and certainly not Minkah Fitzpatrick, all of whom give it their all on every rep, were satisfied watching Pickens half-a** his way through the day to day during the season.

“I think it needed to be done," said Kaboly. "I think it was getting really ugly behind the scenes there. And I think some of the players of veteran leadership weren’t too thrilled with George. I don’t know the timeline on that. So I think that pushed it to the edge...

"... If you're hearing Pickens’ antics that people are saying, imagine the stuff that you're not hearing. I think there's a lot of stuff that we still don't know. After all this went through, saying 'Oh geez, if you would've known this, the trade would have made a ton of sense.'”

Maybe this is a wake-up call for Pickens. Hopefully, he can put his maturity issues behind him and be the player his potential suggests with the Dallas Cowboys.

History shows otherwise, however.