The NFL handed down a big $10,231 fine on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens after he wrote an NSFW message on his eye-black during his matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Pickens was also fined $10,230 for an unnecessary roughness facemask in that contest.
The eye-black said, “open f***ing always” across the 23-year-old's face. These two fines make for a total of four fines in Pickens' three-year career. On December 29, 2023, he was fined $16,931 for taunting vs. the Bengals. On October 27, 2023, he was fined $8,525 for a blindside block and taunting against the Los Angeles Rams.
Are the Steelers interested in correcting George Pickens' behavior?
The Steelers are no stranger to eccentric personalities and it starts at the top with head coach Mike Tomlin's no-nonsense style. After Sunday's loss to the Cowboys, Tomlin addressed why Pickens only played 34 snaps out of 54, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor.
“We just wanted to kind of minimize his reps in an effort to get more productivity,” the head coach told ESPN's Brooke Pryor. “We're just trying to manage in terms of the totality of the big picture. He wasn't less of a focal point in terms of our intentions of what we wanted to do offensively, but we did want to cut his reps a little bit in an effort to get higher quality play, just in general.”
“It's no different than we minimized some of the snaps of D lineman like Cam Hayward and so forth, man. It is just about snap management. It is no underlying story to be quite honest with you.”
Russell Wilson also praised who Pickens is as a player, dismissing any narrative that suggests he is a bad teammate, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor.
“We love the player that he is. We love the competitor that he is and that's the thing that you have to understand. Is George a bad teammate? Absolutely not. Is George a hell of a player? Absolutely. Is he a great competitor? Absolutely. Is he a guy that wants the ball? Absolutely. Is he a guy that can do anything on the field that most people can't? Absolutely,” said Wilson.
Pickens has 23 receptions for 310 yards and no touchdowns through five games. The former Georgia wideout is on pace for a career-high in receptions (73), with a slight decline from last year's receiving yards (1,054).
The Steelers will look to rebound in Week 6 after back-to-back losses. They travel to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, October 13 at 4:05 p.m. EST.
