The Pittsburgh Steelers made waves Wednesday morning, as news broke that the team had traded star wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. Even though the news itself was breaking, there were plenty of clues that fans could have pieced together indicating that Pickens' time in the 'Burgh could be short-lived.
Immaturity concerns from the start
Coming out of Georgia, Pickens had been tabbed with some immaturity concerns, and those showed up at times throughout his three-year tenure with the Steelers. NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler elaborated further on a couple of incidents of concern for Pickens in his annual draft guide, The Beast:
had several immature moments early in his career: ejected from a game as a freshman for trading punches with a Georgia Tech defender, and was suspended for a half the following game (November 2019); was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for spraying water on a Tennessee player on the sideline (October 2020).