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Brooke Pryor
Indianapolis – With the open receiver George Pickens eligible for a contract extension when he enters the last year of his rookie contract, the general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Omar Khan, emphasized the desire of the team to retain his main vertical threat.
“I had a really solid exit meeting with GP, and I can tell you that you have the desire to be great,” Khan said Tuesday morning at the Combine Scouting. “He has the desire to be great here. We have the desire to be great and be great here, with respect to the contract.
“We will not discuss that publicly and, in general, those things are addressed on a later date.”
Pickens, the team’s second round of the team in the NFL 2022 draft, has 12 touchdowns in three seasons and totaled at least 800 reception yards every year. He created 1,000 yards in 2023 with 1,140 reception yards at 63 receptions with five touchdowns, but his production fell in 2024 due to a tension in the hamstrings that left him aside for three games. The year ended with 900 reception yards and three touchdowns, but Pickens took out from his chief coach for part of his behavior in the field.
Pickens was marked twice by unsportsmanlike behavior in a victory of week 13 against the Cincinnati Bengals. A week earlier, Pickens was involved in a fight with the corner of the Cleveland Browns, Greg Newsome II, during an attempt by Hail Mary.
“He just has to grow, man,” Tomlin said after the gain of the Bengals. “This is an emotional game, man. These divisional games are great. It has an objective on the back because it is George, he understands it. But he has to grow. He has to grow in a hurry.”
Tomlin also reiterated that position at his press conference at the end of the season a month later.
“Certainly, obviously there is more space for growth there,” he said in January. “I think he covered a land in 2024, but there is certainly much more land to be covered, and we will see where he leaves us.”
