PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin doesn't believe wide receiver George Pickens is becoming a distraction, even as Pickens' public displays of dissatisfaction suggest otherwise.
The talented but enigmatic Pickens, who leads the Steelers (3-2) in receptions and yards, played a career-low 34 snaps during Sunday night's 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens caught three passes for a season-low 26 yards on seven targets but also spent a significant chunk of the game as a spectator.
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Tomlin called the dip in time for the 23-year-old Pickens an example of load management.
“Most players, particularly in today’s game that have specialized skill sets, they play positions like receiver (and) they don't play every down,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “They don’t play every down because you need them in significant moments. You need them at the back half of the season. You need them in the second half of football games and those weighty downs.”
Maybe, but Pickens didn't appear to handle the decision particularly well.
Wearing eye black with the phrase “always (expletive) open” written in front of a national television audience, Pickens sat motionless and alone for long stretches while his teammates met with coaches.
At the end of one offensive possession that included quarterback Justin Fields overthrowing him on a crossing pattern, Pickens slammed his helmet so hard coming off the field that it bounced over the bench.
After the game's final play — a last-gasp series of laterals that went nowhere — Pickens grabbed at the facemask of Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who later called Pickens “weak” while heading back to the Dallas locker room.
Pickens declined to speak to reporters after the game and brushed them off again on Monday, retreating to the team's equipment room during the 45-minute media window.
This isn't the first time in his career that Pickens has found himself in the middle of a maelstrom because of a perceived lack of effort. He was chastised late last season when cameras caught him opting not to block downfield when teammate Jaylen Warren broke off a long run, a decision Pickens at the time attributed to injury avoidance.
Tomlin has repeatedly backed Pickens publicly, saying in September that he “absolutely" believes Pickens would handle adversity both on and off the field more positively as he enters his third season.
Asked on Tuesday if he still feels that way after a series of perceived missteps were outlined, Tomlin said “in those instances, no, but largely it's been an improvement in those areas, certainly.”
Perhaps more tellingly, Tomlin reiterated his long-held belief that he has no interest in making whatever issue he might have with a given player fit for public consumption.
“This business between he and I, in terms of his growth and development as a player and as a man, I just don’t think it aids that growth and the development to address it in open settings such as this,” Tomlin said.
Tomlin added that the decision to curb Pickens' playing time was communicated to him before the Dallas game and that Pickens did not have an issue with it.
The reality is the Steelers need Pickens to be engaged and on the field if they want to have a balanced offense. Production from the receivers behind him on the depth chart — a list that includes Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller — has been modest at best. Pickens' 23 receptions through five games is more than the combined total from Jefferson, Miller and Calvin Austin III (18).
It didn't help Pickens that quarterback Justin Fields had perhaps his shakiest performance of the season against Dallas, completing a season-low 55% (15 of 27) of his passes, though he did throw a pair of second-half touchdowns, including a shovel pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth that gave the Steelers the lead with less than five minutes to go.
Fields will likely make his sixth straight start on Sunday against Las Vegas (2-3). Russell Wilson is expected to be a full participant in practice on Wednesday for the first time since aggravating a calf injury just before the season opener in Atlanta. Fields will practice with the starters on Wednesday, with Wilson working with the backups.
Tomlin, as he has for weeks, declined to get into what he considers a still unnecessary discussion about Wilson reclaiming the starting job he won out of training camp.
“Until Russ gets to a point where we’re comfortable with what we’re looking at, he’s able to execute all schematics, he’s able to put together back-to-back consecutive days and so forth. I just think that’s a hypothetical conversation,” Tomlin said. “We’ll continue to push forward with Justin until those things are legitimate.”
NOTES: Pittsburgh's outside linebacker depth behind star T.J. Watt will be severely tested in Las Vegas. Alex Highsmith (groin), Nick Herbig (hamstring) and DeMarvin Leal (neck) are all expected to be out. ... RBs Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) is also out while Jaylen Warren (knee) is doubtful.
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