The 2023 NFL season was a roller coaster for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens.
Over the course of the season, he had nine games where he failed to reach 50 receiving yards.
He also had five where he went over 100 yards.
His performances in games weren’t the only thing that were a bit of a roller coaster.
There were also some issues with his professionalism that were publicly brought up during the season.
It turns out, those issues cost him quite a bit of money.
According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, Pickens racked up $200,000 or more in fines from the NFL and the Steelers over the course of the year. Only $33,441 of that was made public.
Whle that number might not seem like a ton for some NFL players, it’s actually a pretty big chunk of the money Pickens made in 2023.
The receiver had a salary of just over $1 million this season, meaning he lost at least around 20% of his salary to fines.
Jones was also told by a pair of sources that things have been getting better for Pickens.
“He’s in a much better place,” one source said. “He’s doing everything asked of him.”
Said another source: “He’s turned the corner and working very hard.”
The info from those sources matches what we in the team’s Week 18 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
A New Pickens for the Steelers
Week 18 of the NFL regular season was a big one for the Steelers.
They took on a division rival with their playoff chances hanging in the balance.
The Steelers beat the Ravens 17-10 and ended up securing the final spot in this year’s playoffs for the AFC.
However, it wasn’t quite as triumphant of a performance for Pickens.
The star receiver wasn’t targeted a single time in the win and his only touch in the game came on a 3-yard carry.
Still, Pickens found another way to shine.
After the game, Pickens was praised by quarterback Mason Rudolph for the way that he handled his lack of targets.
“They double-covered him most of the game. I told him I’m very proud of the way he handled that,” Rudolph told the media. “I thought it was a very mature, team-first attitude. He was not whining or asking for the ball.
“He knew that schematically they were trying to take him away, and I think that’s a form of flattery from a defense that they know how explosive he was. But he blocked hard all day, and he was excited for his teammates. That was awesome to see.”
A Potential Star for Pittsburgh
Despite the inconsistency and other issues, this season also had some major positives for Pickens.
The star receiver made some obvious strides in 2023.
During his second season in the league, Pickens made 11 more catches than his rookie season. He also caught one more touchdown and topped 1000 receiving yards for the first time.
Even while playing in a struggling offense with disappointing quarterback play, Pickens’ 1140 yards were good for 16th in the league.
In the two games before the matchup with the Ravens, showed off his true potential with even decent quarterback play.
In Rudolph’s first two games of the season as the starting QB, Pickens racked up a combined 11 catches for 326 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
With numbers like those and the issues that led to the fines seemingly out of the way, Pickens could prove to be the next in a long line of star receivers for the Steelers, especially if the team’s QB play improves in 2024.
