The Steelers’ decision to trade George Pickens elicited strong reactions, including from former players like Ryan Clark, now in the media. With a large platform, including regular television appearances, he says a lot, and not always with great depth of thought. Yesterday marked one of those days, he found, upon reflection later in the day.
“I’m disappointed in myself”, Clark said in a video shared on X, regarding his reaction to the Steelers trading Pickens. “Immediately, my groupthink, and my thought was, ‘Damn, somebody so talented, they must be tired of dealing with the personality’”.
I jumped the gun this morning in George Pickens. I immediately jumped to the low hanging fruit that the Steelers traded the ultra talented receiver because of his behavior, but that’s disrespectful on to fronts. It would actually be an indictment on George Pickens and Mike… pic.twitter.com/OR0MHiGMb9
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) May 8, 2025
He went on to say that he fell into the same line of thinking that people who don’t actually know Pickens fell into. “I also felt like I slighted George [Pickens] and I slighted Mike [Tomlin]. Mike T, who doesn’t run away from coaching. Mike T, who doesn’t run away from grooming, from bringing players along. It’s almost like I said he gave up on a play”.
Earlier in the day, on ESPN’s Get Up, Clark said in the wake of the George Pickens trade that the Steelers looked like they were tanking, even though he knew they were not. But for Mike Tomlin to sign off on trading one of his best players, their actions read that way.
Clark then said Pickens is “honestly a good dude” with good energy and went back to self-criticism. “For me to jump to the conclusion right away that is the reason he’s no longer there, that’s unfair to the organization I love and to a player I admire”.
He pointed out that the Steelers signed DK Metcalf and gave him a $150 million contract. Maybe the move was because Tomlin knows they can’t pay Pickens, or because their vision on offense can’t accommodate both. He also brought up the Steelers’ unresolved quarterback situation, though I don’t think Mason Rudolph would have minded both receivers.
“This is a football move; this is a business decision”, Clark insisted on the Steelers’ trade. “This isn’t about George Pickens being too difficult to coach or Coach Tomlin running from coaching”. Or maybe Clark is just wishing out loud. Because certainly the Steelers’, and Tomlin’s, decision to move on wasn’t exclusively about football.
After all, if they were only thinking about business, they would have never gotten to this point. The Steelers don’t trade for DK Metcalf if they think George Pickens is their long-term WR No. 1. This isn’t just a matter of both sides doing what’s best for one another.
It may prove to be the case that both Pickens and the Steelers benefit from this move. We won’t find that out for a while, at least. Even if Pickens flourishes in Dallas that doesn’t mean he would have done so here. One thing is obvious, though, and that is that the Steelers didn’t do this to make themselves worse. Not in the long run, anyway; this was a move about the long-term future.
