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George Pickens unfollows Pittsburgh Steelers on Instagram amid trade rumors

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•04/23/25•

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George Pickens
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

As trade rumors swirl, George Pickens’ future with the Pittsburgh Steelers is in question. Amid the reports, he unfollowed the franchise on Instagram.

Earlier Wednesday, FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported Pickens’ name came up in trade discussions ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. Schultz called the former Georgia star “a name to watch this week” in the lead-up to the draft, which gets underway Thursday in Green Bay.

Pickens is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Although Pittsburgh isn’t “actively shopping” him, according to Schultz, his name came up in conversations prior to the draft.

Pickens appeared in 14 games last season as he missed some time with an injury. During that time, he hauled in 59 receptions for 900 yards and three touchdowns as a key piece of the Steelers’ passing attack. That came after an impressive second year in the NFL in 2023 when he had a career-high 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. His 18.1 yards per reception led the league that season.

At February’s NFL Scouting Combine, Steelers general manager Omar Khan declined to discuss specifics of Pickens’ next contract. However, he said the exit meeting after the 2024 season was a positive one.

“I had a really solid exit meeting with GP, and I can tell you that he has a desire to be great,” Khan said. “He has a desire to be great here. We have a desire for him to be great and to be great here, with respect to the contract. We won’t discuss that publicly and usually those things are addressed at a later date.”

George Pickens is expected to maintain an important role in Pittsburgh, although the franchise made a big move this offseason. DK Metcalf is on his way in after the Steelers acquired him from the Seattle Seahawks, and he signed a lucrative five-year contract after the deal went through.

The expectation is Metcalf and Pickens will form an exciting duo in Pittsburgh. However, there are still questions at the quarterback position ahead of the draft. The Steelers are considered the favorite to land free agent Aaron Rodgers, although no deal has come together with less than 24 hours to go until Draft Day. There’s also a chance Pittsburgh could draft a quarterback over the weekend, and ESPN’s Peter Schrager projected the franchise to pick Shedeur Sanders out of Colorado with the No. 21 overall pick in his intel-based mock draft.