To say fans were stunned by the George Pickens trade would be an understatement. Just days after the draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to part ways with one of the most electrifying young wideouts in the league. But not everyone’s lighting a candle over it. As USA TODAY’s Mike Freeman put it, “[George] Pickens is a world-class talent. Pickens is a world-class headache.” That quote alone tells you everything you need to know about the split vibes around the receiver. Still, fans are asking—why now?

Well, turns out this wasn’t some out-of-the-blue fire sale. According to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, the Steelers tried to move Pickens during the NFL Draft but were essentially laughed out of the room. “Word leaked during the draft that Pickens was available if anyone wanted him,” Howe wrote. “Some teams…laughed at the idea of inviting Pickens into their locker room for any price, let alone a second-day draft pick.” So yeah, the league wasn’t exactly rushing to the phone lines.

Meanwhile, someone outside of football saw the whole thing coming. NBA legend Charles Barkley weighed in with some wisdom on The Steam Room podcast. He said, “When people make trades and people are shocked, people make trades, I always say, it’s easy for us to say, that was a good trade. That was a bad trade. I say, the only people who know the situation are the people around you every day.”

Barkley didn’t stop there. He called out a deeper reason behind the move. “Clearly, the Steelers thought, we got another AB situation. Let’s get out of it before we have to pay him.” That comment hit hard for longtime fans. After all, the Antonio Brown saga is still fresh. Back in 2019, Brown skipped practices, clashed with teammates, and got benched before Week 17 despite a monster Week 16 performance. The Steelers had had enough and dealt him, despite his sky-high production.

Eventually, that trade only materialized after a failed attempt to send him to the Bills. AB flat-out refused to go. The $6.08 billion franchise ended up settling with the Raiders for a third- and fifth-round pick. Chaos, drama, and social media meltdowns followed.

Now, years later, AB is chiming in again. Just minutes after the Pickens trade hit social media, Brown tweeted, “WOW” with a mind-blown emoji. Fitting, right? But this time, it seems Pittsburgh didn’t wait for things to go full-blown disaster. Maybe, just maybe—they learned their lesson.

Another perspective on George Pickens’ trade

The George Pickens trade might’ve looked like a messy locker room fallout at first glance, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Just days after the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers surprised everyone by sending Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. While fans were quick to point fingers at chemistry issues, NFL insider Peter Schrager thinks people are missing the bigger picture.

In fact, on The Pat McAfee Show, Schrager cleared the air about the narrative brewing around the Steelers’ locker room. “Pickens wasn’t a disliked player in that building,” he said. “Now, he was late for certain things… frustrated with the quarterback play… But to a man, everyone in Pittsburgh was like, he shows up, he works hard, he blocks his ass off, and he can still play.” So, despite a few hiccups, it wasn’t personal.

What did it really boil down to then? Numbers. Pickens was entering the final year of his rookie deal, and with DK Metcalf just bagging a fat paycheck from the Steelers, there was no room left in the budget. “They weren’t going to pay him the big money that he was going to be due at the end of this season,” Schrager explained. And just like that, a move was made.

Now, with both sides parting ways, it’s wait-and-watch time.