The Pittsburgh Steelers have been largely successful this season, finding themselves right in the middle of the postseason hunt in the AFC. However, that doesn’t mean that things have always been smooth sailing, particularly when it comes to disgruntled star wide receiver George Pickens.
There have been multiple instances where Pickens has looked frustrated or dejected on the sidelines during games for the Steelers. The most recent instance of this came in the Steelers Week 14 loss to the New England Patriots.
In the middle of the game, Tomlin had a discussion with Pickens on the sideline, which looked like him trying to get his star receiver engaged yet again despite his frustrations.
Somebody please explain to me why Mike Tomlin had to lecture a 2nd year WR on the sidelines during Sunday's game against the Patriots when George Pickens has the most targets (84) and receptions (49) of any receiver on the Steelers roster this season. pic.twitter.com/CEL3BsXLY2
— Billy Hartford (@BudDupreeFan) December 10, 2023
Tomlin opened up about this incident, along with Pickens’ overall mood throughout much of the season. In a press conference on Monday, Tomlin said that Pickens’ displays of frustration are starting to become “a problem” for the team.
“It’s a problem because it’s not solution-oriented,” said Tomlin in the press conference. “You know we are all frustrated, but we got to manage our frustrations in a professional, mature way. When it’s not done that way, it’s not necessarily pushing us to solutions.”
It hasn’t really mattered who has been playing quarterback for the Steelers, Pickens has pretty consistently been frustrated with the offense of the team.
To be fair to Pickens, the Steelers offense, particularly through the passing game has had its struggles this season. With only a few weeks remaining in the regular season, the Steelers rank in the bottom five of the NFL in passing yards per game.
It’s okay to be frustrated, but to show it so visibly like Pickens does certainly can hurt the morale of the locker room in Pittsburgh.
Hopefully Pickens can control his emotions moving forward, because Mike Tomlin appears to be done with his antics…
