Fortune favors the bold.
Steelers GM Omah Khan made a bold move in March, trading for wide receiver DK Metcalf. That raised questions regarding what would happen with mercurial wide receiver George Pickens.
Heading into the final season of his rookie contract, Pickens wasn't going to get a new deal before the 2025 season began.
As it turns out, he won't be getting a new deal in Pittsburgh at all.
Pickens was traded earlier this week to the Dallas Cowboys along with a 2027 sixth-round draft pick for a third-round pick in 2026 and a 2027 fifth-round selection.
The move ends three productive seasons for the 2022 second-round draft pick in Pittsburgh.
In 48 career games with the Steelers, Pickens caught 174 passes for 2,841 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He was a good player.
But, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked numerous times about Pickens' many well-documented blow ups on the field for things such as not getting the football as much as he desired or simply going after a player on another team out of frustration.
That led Tomlin to express at his end-of-season press conference, "Certainly there's a lot of room for growth there. I think he covered some ground in 2024, but there's certainly a heck of a lot more ground to be covered and we'll see where it leads us."
Where it led them was to deem Pickens expendable.
Not only did the Steelers trade Pickens, they replaced him as the team's No. 1 wide receiver before doing so, which is the way things had to be done.
What's next for the Steelers remains to be seen.
Acquiring Metcalf was a dynamic move, arguably the biggest offseason addition of any offensive skill position player this year.
Trading Pickens away leaves a void in the wide receiver group, one that isn't filled by the signing of 33-year-old Robert Woods last week.
Unlike last year, however, when the Steelers were shut out in their attempts to acquire additional wide receiver help until bringing in Mike Williams at the trade deadline, the Steelers have way more resources available with which to add to the wide receiver room.
And they don't play a game tomorrow … or this month … or even next month.
It feels like there is another move forthcoming with the trade of Pickens.
In that regard, this move could be addition by subtraction.
• The Steelers filled a lot of needs with the positions at which they selected players in the 2025 NFL Draft two weeks ago.
Friday begins the process of the coaching staff assessing how quickly the players selected at those positions can acclimate themselves to the NFL game when rookie minicamp is held at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Of course, the short camp is as much of an information-gathering process for the players as it is for the teams. Players are given a chance to see how the coaching staff wants drills run. They spend time in the classroom learning particular plays and then are taken to the field to see who retains that information and who does not.
The learning goes both ways. The players are beginning the process of taking in the playbook and seeing how the coaching staff wants things done. The coaching staff is seeing which players are classroom learners and which need a hands-on refresher approach on the field.
We all learn in different ways.
But it will be a huge opportunity not only for defensive linemen Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black, running back Kaleb Johnson, outside linebacker Jack Sawyer, quarterback Will Howard, linebacker Carson Bruener and cornerback Donte Kent – the team's seven draft picks – but for players hoping to earn a spot on the roster as undrafted rookies, as well.
And then there are the players invited to camp on a tryout basis. Their stay with the Steelers could wind up being the extent of the Friday through Sunday camp. Or, a few fortunate ones might catch the eye of the coaching staff and earn an invitation to return.
Some of those might even make the roster. Former Steelers linebacker Terence Garvin was one such player, attending rookie minicamp on a tryout basis and not only earning an invite back but also winding up on the team's 53-man roster. He even started a game as a rookie in 2013.
Garvin not only spent three years with the Steelers, he spent six total seasons in the NFL from 2013 through 2018.
Garvin, now 34, was recently hired as the defensive coordinator at Norfolk State University.
And it all began with a tryout at rookie minicamp.
The Steelers have a long history of not only having drafted players make their roster, but undrafted ones, as well. It doesn't matter how they find you. It only matters if you can play.
• One of the things that stood out about the Steelers' draft class is that in an age where college football has become all about big-time transfers, the majority of the team's draft picks were players who spent their entire college career in one place.
Johnson, the team's third-round pick, and Black, a fifth-round selection, both played only at Iowa. Sawyer, a fourth-round pick, was recruited by and spent his entire career at Ohio State. Bruener and Kent, the team's two seventh-round picks, spent the entirety of their collegiate days at Washington and Central Michigan, respectively.
The two players who did transfer were special cases.
Harmon, the team's first-round pick, chose to stay close to home at Michigan State. He wanted to remain there, but left after Mel Tucker, the head coach who recruited him, was fired during the 2023 season. As it was, he spent three years at Michigan State.
Howard, meanwhile, spent four years at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State.
• With Justin Tucker being released earlier this week by the Ravens, it leaves Chris Boswell as arguably the best kicker currently in the NFL.
Of course, that was arguable the past couple of seasons, as well, as the usually reliable Tucker struggled in his final two years in Baltimore, seeing his career field goal percentage drop below 90 percent.
Boswell has been at or above 90 percent on his field goal percentage in five of the past six seasons. Currently, he is fourth all-time at 88.026 percent. Tucker is first at 89.103 percent.
Boswell has made 272 of 309 career kicks, including making 41 of 44 attempts last season and 29 of 31 kicks in 2023.
If Boswell makes his average of the past two seasons – 35 of 37.5 kicks – his career percentage would increase to 88.6 percent, still just short of Tucker's career mark. But closing fast.
Considering Boswell's 82.7 career percentage from 50 yards and beyond is the best in NFL history for players with at least 50 attempts – by a large margin – and three of his five misses in the past two seasons have been from those distances, he could make a strong push at first place.
• Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward turned 36 earlier this week.
Heyward is coming off a season in which he recorded 71 tackles, 8 sacks and 11 pass defenses, which led all NFL defensive linemen. He earned first-team All-Pro status for the fourth time in his career.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast Pittonline@iheartmedia.com
His sack total was tied for 12th most in NFL history by a 35-year-old player.
This season is when things get interesting for Heyward. He's now 11.5 short of 100 in his career. Only five defensive tackles in NFL history have 100 or more sacks.
The NFL record for sacks in a season by a 36-year-old is 15 by former Steelers outside linebacker Kevin Greene for the Carolina Panthers in 1998.
Only four 36-year-olds have reached double digits in sacks in league history, Greene, Chris Doleman (12), Reggie White (11) and Ed "Too Tall" Jones (10). So, it's unlikely Heyward gets to 100 this season. But he has reached double digits in sacks three times in his fantastic career, including twice in the past four seasons.
If Heyward can match his 8 sacks from last season, it would still be a monumental event. Only six players in NFL history have had more in their age 36 season. None of them were defensive tackles.
