

For once, Shedeur Sanders wasn’t the main topic of the day in the NFL. Yes, that actually happened last Thursday when, in the morning, it was announced that the Pittsburgh Steelers had traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys – something that had been expected, especially after they acquired DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks at the start of free agency.
Something broke between Pickens and Mike Tomlin in the locker room, because the young wide receiver is still on his rookie contract with a salary cap hit of $3.656 million in 2025. Despite being in a conservative offense last year, he had over 50 receptions, more than 900 yards, and 3 touchdowns – and still, the Steelers let him go.
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This isn’t the first time the Steelers have parted ways with high-quality receivers. They did so in 2010 with Santonio Holmes, Martavis Bryant, Antonio Brown, Diontae Johnson, and Chase Claypool. All of them performed well with the Steelers, but outside of Pittsburgh, only Brown had a standout season – with Tampa Bay.
Cameron Heyward, Steelers leader, weighed in on the situation
The defensive lineman and team leader, Cameron Heyward, spoke about Pittsburgh’s history with its receivers on his podcast Not Just Football.
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“I think we have to look at the track record of wide receiver trades,” said Heyward. “There’s a strong precedent behind it: when to do it, what to expect. I saw a stat – there’ve only been like three or four receivers who’ve made it past their rookie contract with the Steelers. That’s wild.
“We had AB; we had Diontae Johnson; Hines Ward; I think JuJu [Smith-Schuster] for one more year. Overall, they know when to re-sign and when to trade, and we’ll see what happens. We might end up being a better team because of it.”
Heyward said it came as a surprise to him, although several Steelers insiders believe that once the team signed DK Metcalf for five years and $150 million at the start of free agency, it was clear Pickens was out.
“I didn’t know anything about it… I woke up the next morning, and he was already traded,” Heyward said. “Was I surprised? Yes, but that’s the game. I know it benefits both teams. We get another third-round pick. They get a receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb. Would I have liked to see George and DK play together? Yes, but I hope there’s something in the works. I don’t know.”
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