Let's get this out of the way first: George Pickens may very well be a diva.
Maybe he doesn't always give top effort. Maybe he whines. Maybe he isn't always the most team-first player.
But this is the National Football League, where winning matters most and everything else is secondary. And make no mistake about it: The Pittsburgh Steelers were a better football team, a football team more likely to win, with George Pickens on the roster.
But just a couple weeks before the Aaron Rodgers signing became a done deal, the Steelers traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys.
Instead of giving Rodgers (who was all but signed for months) two star wide receivers, he only gets one.
The Steelers traded for DK Metcalf at the start of the offseason and gave him a huge extension. That set up the Pickens trade, because Pittsburgh didn't want to pay him, too. They put their eggs in Metcalf's basket, not Pickens'.
Except they didn't have to choose only one basket. This doesn't add up.
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Signing the 41-year old Rodgers is the most win-now move possible. Trading away an established stud wide receiver for draft pick improvement is the opposite of a win-now move.
Rodgers has thrown to all types of receivers in his time, including some who liked drama. That didn't stop one of the greatest QBs ever from being successful with them.
The Steelers were backed into a corner with Rodgers. He was the last available partner at the dance.
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But he's a legendary partner, a future lock as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He isn't at his peak, but he's still Aaron Rodgers.
Why in the world would you not keep all the passing game weapons possible around for Rodgers to throw to?
If Rodgers flops this season, if Metcalf doesn't have enough support, if the Steelers' passing game is surprisingly underwhelming, it'll all stem from the Pickens trade, a clear move for the future on a team built to try and win right now.
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