Report: George Pickens' Steelers tenure was worse 'behind closed doors' than most thought
Report: George Pickens' Steelers tenure was worse 'behind closed doors' than most thought
George Pickens is now a Dallas Cowboy — and while Steelers fans may have regretted the lack of a succession plan following the trade, longtime sportswriter and Steelers correspondent for The Pat McAfee Show, Mark Kaboly, argued it could be for the best.
Kaboly made an appearance on 93.7 The Fan's livestream and cleared up what truly happened between Pickens and the Steelers:
"I got a sense that it was a little bit more uglier than you thought — behind closed doors."
Kaboly concluded with some frightening food-for-thought regarding Pickens' immaturity that had been in the spotlight — versus what went unseen:
"If you're hearing [Pickens' antics] that people are saying, imagine the stuff that you're not hearing. I think there's a lot of stuff that we still don't know. After all this went through, saying 'Oh geez, if you would've known this, [the trade] would have made a ton of sense.'"
Ultimately, we may never truly know what the Steelers organization went through with Pickens behind closed doors. If it was as bad as Kaboly speculated, perhaps there was no way Pittsburgh could have fathomed franchise tagging and trading him after the 2025 season — when giving him away for pennies to the Cowboys got him out of the Steel City the fastest.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Packers release CB Jaire Alexander and the Steelers need to pay attention
Packers release CB Jaire Alexander and the Steelers need to pay attention On Monday, the news broke that the Green Bay Packers are planning to release Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander. According to reports, the Packers asked Alexander to take a restructured contract that would turn into a pay cut, and Alexander refused. We expect Alexander to draw a ton of interest as a free agent and it would make sense the Pittsburgh Steelers would be one of those teams showing interest. Pittsburgh lost starting cornerback Donte Jackson to free agency and signed veteran Darius Slay to replace him. While we have no issue with Slay as an addition and think he's going to be a great mentor for Joey Porter Jr., Alexander would give the Steelers a starting-caliber cornerback to be the team's No. 3. Alexander's market all depends on his availability on the field. Alexander only played in seven games in each of the last two seasons and the Packers didn't feel comfortable with his availability. For a team like the Steelers, his availability would be just as important but with Porter and Slay, Alexander could be part of a rotation as opposed to being counted on to play heavy snaps each week.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Jaire Alexander landing spots: Steelers, Rams best fits for veteran CB
Jaire Alexander landing spots: Steelers, Rams best fits for veteran CB Show Caption Hide Caption Ashton Jeanty talks all things Las Vegas Raiders and his hopes in the NFL Ashton Jeanty spoke with USA TODAY Sports about his upcoming rookie season with the Raiders and his partnership with Sharpie. Sports Seriously The Green Bay Packers are moving on from one of their longest-tenured defenders, cornerback Jaire Alexander. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports the Packers are planning to release Alexander on Monday. The move comes after the two parties explored both a trade and a restructured contract before deciding to part ways. Alexander was a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and quickly blossomed into a top cornerback for the Packers. He was named to the NFL's All-Pro second team twice during his seven years in Green Bay and had a career-high five interceptions in 2022. FREEMAN: Kevin O'Connell is a QB guru. How that happened is best part of his Vikings story Over the last couple of seasons, Alexander has struggled to stay healthy. He was limited to a combined 14 games during the 2023 and 2024 seasons while dealing with knee, groin, back, shoulder and quad injuries. Alexander is still just 28 and performed well when on the field, allowing a 79.9 passer rating and recording two interceptions during the 2024 NFL season. That should make him of interest to contenders searching for cornerback help. Here's a look at some of Alexander's top potential landing spots. The Steelers are loading up for a potential Super Bowl run after signing Aaron Rodgers to a one-year deal. Could they target Alexander, his former teammate, to help provide depth and talent at cornerback? Pittsburgh already added two veteran corners to its roster during the offseason in Darius Slay and Brandin Echols, but at this stage in his career, Alexander is better than both. The Steelers could consider signing him and having him split playing time with the 34-year-old Slay to keep both healthy long-term. AARON RODGERS: Some Steelers fans hate team's QB signing - 'I wish he'd have retired already' The Rams have frequently been mentioned as a landing spot for Jalen Ramsey, who the Miami Dolphins are looking to trade. They could shift their attention to Alexander on the free-agent market to add talent to the team's cornerback room. Los Angeles is currently slated to start Darious Williams and Ahkello Witherspoon as its outside corners. Alexander would provide an upgrade and could help Chris Shula's defense take a step forward in 2025. Pete Carroll has earned a reputation for coaching up cornerbacks during his NFL career, but the Raiders are presently lacking a No. 1 corner. Alexander would change that, and he projects as a nice longer-term complement to third-round rookie Darien Porter – a raw, bigger-bodied defensive back. The Raiders already signed one former Packers cornerback during the offseason in Eric Stokes. Perhaps they will go back to the well and target Alexander. The Eagles have two great, young cornerbacks in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, but the team could use more veteran depth. It's also worth noting defensive coordinator Vic Fangio recently said the team would prefer to keep DeJean in the slot and could potentially play him at safety in base packages. Alexander would provide needed experience to the Eagles' cornerback room and would be an upgrade over the departed Slay. The Bengals struggled in coverage during the 2024 NFL season. Part of their issue was they didn't have a clear-cut top cornerback, as Cam Taylor-Britt struggled to perform consistently and was benched at times throughout the year as a result. Alexander would provide Cincinnati a player who has performed steadily when healthy. That's something the team could use after eschewing the cornerback position entirely during the 2025 NFL Draft. A.J. Terrell is one of the NFL's best cornerbacks. Atlanta hasn't yet found a suitable partner for him, as Mike Hughes allowed a 98.7 passer rating last season while Dee Alford surrendered a mark of 119.2. Alexander and Terrell would form a fearsome duo while allowing Hughes and Alford to slot in as depth options. That could help the Falcons improve upon a defense that ranked 28th in defensive EPA last season. As mentioned earlier, the Dolphins are looking to move on from Ramsey. If they do, they will have a gaping hole at cornerback. Alexander could fill that void at a lower cost than Ramsey while looking to stay healthy and rebuild his value.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Steelers' T.J. Watt named New York Giants' biggest Achilles heel since 2020
Steelers' T.J. Watt named New York Giants' biggest Achilles heel since 2020 Every NFL team has opponents who have their number and players who excel against them to the point where it becomes a very noticeable pattern. For the New York Giants, a good example of that would have been former Philadelphia Eagles running back Boston Scott, who had his best games as a pro against Big Blue. Times have changed, naturally, and new nemeses' have arisen such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Cee Dee Lamb, and Washington Commanders wideout Terry McLaurin. In a recent piece identifying each team's "Achilles Heel" since 2020, Pro Football Focus' Dalton Wasserman lists a very unlikely rival of the Giants: Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt. Watt makes his second appearance on this list for terrorizing the New York Giants on two occasions. Across those matchups, he produced a 93.9 PFF overall grade. As a pass rusher, he generated 13 pressures, two sacks and a 20% win rate. He also earned a solid 79.9 PFF run-defense grade and notched an interception in coverage. Watt has played against the Giants just twice in his career but has terrorized them in both meetings. He racked up eight tackles (six solo, three for a loss) with 2.0 sacks, three QB hits, an interception, three passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Not taking anything away from Watt, but he had little resistance from the Giants' offensive line as they were among the league's worst the past few years. Granted, he is a great player and the Giants perhaps should have been more prepared for him.
