The Pittsburgh Steelers have seen no shortage of behavioral issues from their No. 1 wide receiver, George Pickens, and his attitude has apparently worn thin on the patience of his teammates.
That was revealed by The Athletic's Mike DeFabo, who reports that Steelers players are "sick of" Pickens' attitude over the course of this season.
“I'm not speculating with this. There are players who are like sick of it," DeFabo said on 93.7 The Fan. "That's not just me making something up or trying to put myself in these players' shoes, players have said that to me. They kind of are like, 'Come on.'”
“I think sometimes with the Pickens stuff, you know, it's an emotional game, guys get frustrated," DeFabo added. "Some of it I feel like is blown out of proportion, but there is also some truth to it, and again, that's where I feel like the line is. When your own teammates are sick of answering questions about it, sick of having to try and uplift you. I think that's where it gets frustrating for some guys.”
Pickens has been a non-stop topic of conversation since the Steelers' Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
In that game, Pickens wrote an expletive on his eye black, saw a huge drop in snaps, appeared to not give full effort on some of his routes and had an ugly exchange with Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis at the end of the game.
Earlier this week, we covered a quote from tight end Pat Freiermuth that seemed to take a jab at Pickens. Knowing what we know now based on DeFabo's reporting, we have more reason to believe that's indeed what it was.
In case you missed it, here's the quote:
“I trust the coaching staff and what they’re doing," he said, per Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Everyone can bitch and complain about a lack of targets, but it’s the stuff you do without the ball. That’s what leaders do. That’s what good teammates do. I block my a-- off regardless.”
With a lack of reliable options in the wide receivers room, the Steelers can ill-afford for this situation to get any worse than it already is. Not to mention, now Pickens' issues are starting to frustrate his teammates, which could create a problem in the locker room.
