Getty Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward fired a message at current Steelers wideout George Pickens.
It’s obvious that George Pickens has the talent to become one of the best wide receivers in Pittsburgh Steelers history. But at the moment, Pickens seems to have a personal mindset closer to Antonio Brown than Hines Ward.
Steelers fans would obviously prefer Pickens to act more like the latter. Ward apparently would too, as delivered a bit of advice to the 22-year-old wideout through an interview with CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo.
“George, he’s just young,” Ward told DeArdo. “Extremely talented. Wants the ball. It’s not a bad thing. I love receivers who want to impact the game, but also, you have to keep everything in perspective and understand that it’s not about you. There’s a lot that goes on in the passing game. You may be wide open, but protection breaks down and the quarterback has to scramble and you never got that opportunity because of that.
“Sometimes, you can’t get all caught up in drinking the Kool-Aid and thinking that it’s all about you because football is a total team aspect. One person can’t win the Super Bowl by themselves. It takes a collective group of guys to come together, to be unselfish.”
Ward’s comments came a day after Pickens scrubbed any reference to the Steelers on his Instagram account.
George Pickens Expresses Frustration With Steelers Offense on Instagram?
On the stat sheet, Pickens has experienced an inconsistent 2023 season.
He’s posted a 100-receiving yard day in three of Pittsburgh’s eight games. But in the other five contests, he’s failed to reach 40 receiving yards four times.
Over the past two contests, Pickens had a combined 21 yards. He had 2 receptions for minus-1 yard in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans.
A day after that performance is when Pickens created a stir on social media by deleting his Steelers pictures from his Instagram account. Furthermore, he typed a “Free me” caption in his Instagram story.
The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan on November 3 that Pickens quickly exited the locker room after the Week 9 victory and did not meet with the media.
“By far, the first person that left the field yesterday, in the locker room, and out the door,” Kaboly said of Pickens. “He didn’t want nothing to do with talking to anybody. He was not happy.
“I was told by people on the sidelines, after the touchdowns, he didn’t really interact with anybody. He sat on the bench, held his hands sulking … Matt Canada a couple of times trying to console him on the bench.”
On November 4, Pickens reposted some Steelers pictures then responded on Instagram to fans who reacted strongly to the changes on his account after Week 9.
“Assumptions lol over a picture. That has nun to do with fb,” Pickens wrote with two laughing emojis in his Instagram story. “Y’all need urgent care lol.”
Negative yardage will frustrated any NFL receiver. On top of that, in the third quarter against the Titans, quarterback Kenny Pickett hit Pickens for what appeared to be a touchdown.
However, upon further review, the replay revealed Pickens’ second foot landed out of bounds.
Hines Ward Sends Advice to WR George Pickens
It was clear Ward wasn’t trying to be overly critical of the young Steelers wideout. But he did continue to stress how Pickens would be better served putting the team ahead of himself.
“I don’t have a problem with that,” Ward said. “(But) when you start posting tweets and giving media an opportunity to bring it up … that can be a distraction to most teams, especially Pittsburgh being so young.
“You just have to be mindful, be careful because you can’t make it all about George Pickens. You’ve got to make it about the Pittsburgh Steelers and the reason why we have six Lombardi trophies in that building. It wasn’t just about one player, I can guarantee you that.”
Ward helped the Steelers win two of their six Super Bowl rings during the 2005 and 2008 seasons. He won Super Bowl MVP following the 2005 season.
“I think you should win championships and along the way, when you’re playing in the postseason when the games matter the most, what are you doing in crucial situations and stuff like that,” Ward said. “Always took pride in that.”
Ward also had the regular season statistics, as he remains the leader in Steelers history in all statistical receiving categories. He finished his career with 1,000 receptions, 12,083 receiving yards and 85 touchdowns.
His 217 games in a Steelers uniform is third in franchise history behind only Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Webster.
Pickens has 30 receptions, 521 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on 58 targets in eight games this season. He leads the team in all of those categories, but Diontae Johnson has 29 targets in the past three games since returning from injury.
During that same stretch, Pickens has received 18 targets.