News of the Pittsburgh Steelers trading 24-year-old wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys broke early Wednesday morning, and believe it or not, Pickens himself found out when it became public on social media.
“It was like my old draft reaction. I found out when everyone else found out,” Pickens said on a conference call on Thursday. “I feel great, I like the mojo here. I like the swag, there’s a lot of new players I’ve been meeting. I feel like they have a good thing going, for sure.”
Pickens said he did not request a trade despite him being mentioned in rumors all offseason, and he himself fanned the flames of those rumors by posting a picture of himself standing with Las Vegas Raiders part owner Tom Brady this offseason.
“This game is just as much a business as it is football. It’s kind of like out of my control,” Pickens said of being traded. “I’m glad to be here in Dallas and able to continue the winning culture that they have.”
He was incredibly productive in three seasons in Pittsburgh, racking up the third-most receiving yards in franchise history in a player’s first three seasons with 2,841. However, the Steelers had an issue with how Pickens carried himself on the field, something that came to a head in Pittsburgh’s 44-38 road win at the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13 last season. Pickens caught three of his six targets from quarterback Russell Wilson for 74 yards and a touchdown that day, but he also picked up two personal foul penalties: a taunting call and an unsportsmanlike conduct call. That led Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to publicly challenge Pickens to grow up.
“You just have to grow up, man,” Tomlin said that day. “It’s an emotional game. These divisional games are big. He has a target on his back because he’s George. He understands that, but he has to grow up. He has to grow up in a hurry.”
Pickens noted that he “can’t change…
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