Steelers' Payton Wilson reveals important lesson learned from the George Pickens trade

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a busy offseason in 2025 when it comes to the wide receiver position. The organization acquired DK Metcalf via a trade with the Seattle Seahawks and traded away George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. 

Pickens was a highly effective player on the field, but he struggled to keep his emotions in check and show signs of immaturity throughout his time in Pittsburgh.

Pickens was going into the final year of his rookie contract, and the Steelers had no intention of extending him. This would mean the organization would lose him anyway in free agency following the 2025 season, so it made sense to trade him away now. 

The business side of the NFL can be rough on players, and second-year guys Payton Wilson and Beanie Bishop Jr. now realize that. The two appeared on the most recent episode of "Beanie's Bakery," which released on Sunday. 

While talking with one another, the trade of Pickens was brought up. The two were both shocked by it, but Wilson had an interesting way of looking at things from a player's perspective.

"The front office isn't just making moves for like this year, and that's kind of what I've had to learn." Wilson said. "They're really trying to stack like year on top of year, on top of year. Obviously, us being in it, we want to win a Super Bowl every single year. It's probably a little different for the front office, you know? They make this trade, 'Ok, we can set up for this pick in this year.' Obviously I have no clue what I'm talking about, but that's just the way I look at it. I don't even really like, like where I'm at, I play ball, I try to do my job."

Both Wilson and Bishop didn't seem too enthusiastic about Pickens being traded to Dallas, but the two sounded understanding of the situation. Adding Metcalf earlier in the offseason made Pickens expendable, and there is a chance the wide receiver room in Pittsburgh could be better in 2025.

Metcalf is more proven in the NFL. Like Pickens, he has drawn unnecessary flags and had his own outbursts on the sidelines, but he has at least shown improvement in that regard. Meanwhile, Pickens never once seemed to care when he hurt his team. He kept doing it week after week, and he would completely check out of games at times which was unacceptable. 

Wilson and Bishop were discussing the trade in a completely civil and respectful manner, but Pickens decided to respond to the comments in an Instagram comment that has since been deleted. Pickens didn't say anything personal about Wilson or Bishop, but he did trash the organization by calling it cheap.