This year’s NFL offseason story is worthy of at least 5 Oscar nominations. Don’t you think? There’s so much happening around the league that fans can barely keep up. It started with Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin’s waiting game. Went on to Shedeur Sanders’ draft. Then moved to Derek Carr’s retirement. All the while, Kirk Cousins’s trade rumors circled like mosquitoes after a cold, rainy day. The league decided to bench the coaching acceleration program. You’d think we’ve had enough. But no, sir. There’s also the George Pickens-shaped hole in the wall that the Steelers need to address now. Not just Oscars, we’ve got to add a few Emmys too.
The Steelers are in a tight spot. And we don’t just mean with Aaron Rodgers anymore. With everything that has unfolded last week, the Steelers now need to address their QB as well as WR situation. In a classic Jerry Jones move, he snagged George Pickens from the Steelers locker room and added him to the Dallas depth chart. The Steelers now have an additional third-round pick for next year. But the fans are wondering, what about now? Is it goodbye, Super Bowl, for the Steelers? A Steelers veteran believes there’s a lot of work to be done, but they might just come through with their iconic Steel City resilience.
On the Not Just Football podcast, Steelers veteran DT Cam Heyward shared his take on the trade. “Was I surprised? Yeah, but I know it benefits both teams. We get another third-round pick. They get a wide receiver to go along with CeeDee Lamb. Would I’ve liked to see George and DK play together? Yeah.” The Steelers got DK Metcalf in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.
New pod out! This week we discuss:
-George Pickens trade
-Steelers in Ireland
-Nick Herbig & Keeanu join the show
Full pod out now! pic.twitter.com/E25lwjskI1
— Not Just Football (@NotJustFootball) May 13, 2025
But as fans were drawing up dreamy combination plays by Metcalf and Pickens, the top brass clearly had other plans. Heyward further added, “You have to look at the players we do have around. Calvin Austin, I think he’s gonna take a step forward. The ball should be going through Pat [Freiermuth] a little bit more. And you’re looking for a guy like Roman Wilson to really take a big step.” They definitely need to do that.
Cam Heyward’s message to the Steeler Nation is simple. “Don’t panic, stay patient, we’ll get to work.” And the team does seem to be thinking along those same lines, too. There is hope. But what’s the plan of action? Heyward and Payton Wilson believe the front office has a plan in place. After all, there are already rumors going around for a Kirk Cousins trade. So why not something similar for a WR, too?
Mike Tomlin’s next move for the Steelers?
Look, the George Pickens trade was something we all saw coming. He hasn’t had the breeziest relationship with others. Fines and ‘attitude problems’ had already marked him as a red flag for the Steelers. Tomlin had, at one point, said Pickens had “got to grow up.” And GM Omar Khan also believed that “a fresh start made sense for everyone.” So now they have their fresh start.
Pickens with CeeDee Lamb is the new dream combo Dallas is drawing up. And Cam Heyward believes this is the perfect opportunity for the existing players to take the leap and make it count. On his podcast, Heyward further added, “I think sometimes we can jump off the ship and think the ship is sinking. We got work to do. And, you know, whoever won the offseason isn’t gonna win the regular season, is not gonna win the Super Bowl.” Powerful words from a powerful veteran DT.
NFL, American Football Herren, USA 2025: Steelers vs Bengals JAN 04 January 04, 2025: Head Coach Mike Tomlin during the Steelers vs Bengals in Pittsburgh, PA. Jason Pohuski/CSM/Sipa USACredit Image: Jason Pohuski/Cal Media/Sipa USA Pittsburgh Pa USA NOxUSExINxGERMANY PUBLICATIONxINxALGxARGxAUTxBRNxBRAxCANxCHIxCHNxCOLxECUxEGYxGRExINDxIRIxIRQxISRxJORxKUWxLIBxLBAxMLTxMEXxMARxOMAxPERxQATxKSAxSUIxSYRxTUNxTURxUAExUKxVENxYEMxONLY Copyright: xCalxSportxMediax Editorial use only
Payton Wilson, on the other hand, believes that the front office is playing a long game. “The front office isn’t just making moves for this year – That’s what I had to learn. They’re really trying to stack year on top of year. Obviously, we being in it, we’re trying to win a Super Bowl every single year. But it’s probably a little different for the front office. They made this trade, ‘okay, we can set up this pick this year, this pick this year.’ – that’s just my way to look at it.” The Steelers have a strong draft class. Maybe Tomlin believes they can take up the mantle and lead them to greatness this year itself. If not, they’re stacking up on picks to get a game-changer when one becomes available. That’s a fairly long-term strategy.
For now, going into the 2025 season, all hopes are on three players. DK Metcalf (obviously), Calvin Austin, and Robert Woods. Roman Wilson will also get a chance to shine. And if the Steelers can land a QB, maybe Rodgers, maybe Cousins, maybe someone else to lead the team… Who knows, things might just turn out to be very interesting.
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