The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their second consecutive defeat in a 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. One thing that stood out offensively was the lack of George Pickens.

The Steelers receiver played in just 34 snaps, while Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin had substantially more playing time. Pickens caught just three passes for 26 yards. Mike Tomlin was asked about this postgame, but said it was just “snap management” and that it was nothing more than that. However, that seems like a cover for something more taking place behind the scenes, and the actions of Pickens seem to back that up.

The Georgia product denied all postgame interview requests, and also was not available for interviews on Monday, which goes against the NFL media policy for players.

After ignoring interview requests postgame, Steelers WR George Pickens walked through open locker room today and sat inside the equipment room for at least 30 minutes where he was visible but not available to be requested for interviews.

Per NFL media policy, players must be…

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) October 7, 2024

Pickens was wearing eye black with the words “Open F***ing Always” written across it. Is he in the doghouse for this? It’s hard to believe that alone would be reason enough to limit his snaps. When watching the film back, there were clear plays that Pickens took off and didn’t show full effort.

Something feels off with the entire situation, and perhaps it could end with Pickens playing elsewhere.