Wide receiver George Pickens has mostly made the Pittsburgh Steelers look bad for trading him this past offseason. But this week, Pickens appeared to give the trade vindication.
The receiver is under fire this weekend for a social media post he made in response to Amazon Prime analyst and former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman.
On Friday, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters he plans to have a conversation with Pickens about the post.
“I’m aware of what was supposedly put out there,” Schottenheimer told the media. “I’ve not talked to him yet. I understand it’s been taken down, but I will be talking to him, just checking on him. Again, this is unfortunately things that we deal with in this profession. But I have not spoken to him, but I will.”
Following the Cowboys’ 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions, Sherman called Pickens “uninterested” and “disengaged.” Pickens registered five catches for 37 yards.
It was Pickens’ lowest yardage output since Week 1.
The Cowboys lost fellow receiver CeeDee Lamb to a concussion during the second half. Lamb’s absence likely played a role in Pickens’ poor statistical performance.
Initially, Pickens appeared reluctant to blame the Lamb injury for his subpar game. But Pickens then used the ailment in his response to Sherman.
“It’s funny cause I thought former players would know that,” Pickens wrote on social media, via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “WHO BTW AINT SHH WITHOUT THE LEGION OF BOOM.”
The receiver deleted the post.
Sherman made first-team All-Pro three times and received five Pro Bowl nominations during his 11-year career. He won the Super Bowl as well in 2013 as part of the Seattle Seahawks “Legion of Boom” defense.
Cowboys’ Schottenheimer to Talk to WR George Pickens
Before Thursday, Pickens had 11 consecutive games with either 75 receiving yards or a touchdown. During that stretch, he averaged 6.4 catches and 101.1 receiving yards per week.
The Steelers could badly use that production right now. Pittsburgh only has one pass-catcher who has more receiving yards than Pickens posted in just two contests — Weeks 11-12.
But while Pickens has shown growth with the Cowboys, the lack of maturity he showcased with his social media post is an example of why the Steelers were willing to part with the wideout for a third-round pick.
While continuing to address Pickens, Schottenheimer tried to spread the blame around for Thursday’s loss.
“I don’t think any of us coached or played well enough,” said Schottenheimer. “All in all, I’m going to judge George on his body of work, man. His body of work, he’s shown what an elite player he is and what a game changer that he is. I have no question.”
Schottenheimer also told reporters he didn’t see Pickens as uninterested while reviewing the game film Friday.
There are still four games remaining this season. However, Pickens has already posted career highs with 78 catches, 1,179 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He’s averaging 15.1 yards per catch.
In Pittsburgh last season, Pickens posted 15.3 yards per grab with 59 catches and 900 receiving yards. He also had three touchdowns.
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