Mark Madden: The Steelers have themselves to blame for George Picken's situation

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a tradition of winning Super Bowls.

It's getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

They also have a tradition of crazy wide receivers.

This custom is alive and well.

George Pickens is at the head of this series. The Steelers have no real point of criticism. They knew exactly what he was when they selected Pickens out of Georgia in 2022. There were plenty of red flags.

But now the situation seems likely to boil over, and the Steelers are responsible for putting pressure on the Pickens while weakening their team.

In last Sunday's loss to Dallas, Pickens played a career-low 34 of 58 snaps. That's 59%. That's less than Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III, also known as Van Halen and Kenny the Kangaroo.

So Pickens was benched. Sort of. But not really.

Coach Mike Tomlin explained it as “fast management.” But Pickens is 23. He's not nervous like Cameron Heyward, who's 35. Pickens needs goals, not rest. The NFL's top receivers routinely play 90% of their team's offensive snaps.

Some kind of half-hearted disciplinary action seems more likely.

Pickens reportedly showed up late to work several times. He generally has a shitty attitude. His “always open (beeping)” eye-black band confirms this. (Except he got the words wrong. That confirms something about his literacy. Or he speaks like Yoda.)

But playing less is not a message. Taking Pickens' helmet away would send a message. (Whether he would receive this message is another question.)

But the Steelers have the worst group of wide receivers in the NFL. Making Pickens inactive would deprive them of their only legitimate option.

It all started when the Steelers traded wideout Diontae Johnson to Carolina without a concrete plan to replace him. They fumbled with Brandon Aiyuk, but Aiyuk stayed in San Francisco.

Johnson threw a fit of annoyance because he was exhibiting a shitty attitude. (But not as bad as Pickens.)

Johnson has 23 catches, as many as Pickens. He scored two touchdowns, while Pickens scored none.

Without Johnson, the Steelers offense is much worse. Pickens has more influence. He can't be benched, not entirely. Pickens isn't just the main character. He's the only guy. Trading Johnson but failing to adequately replace him is inexcusable.

That leads us to the excrement show the Steelers currently find themselves in with Pickens. (Which might have happened anyway.)

It's poor squad management by GM Omar Khan. It's bad coaching from Tomlin.

Pickens will likely get a slew of snaps on Sunday in Las Vegas. If offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is smart, Pickens will be targeted early and often, getting his head in the game. (Ben Roethlisberger suggested this on his podcast. It's just common sense, but that may be in short supply with the Steelers. Roethlisberger could be offensive coordinator, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone I like.)

But that just covers up the gaps. Pickens will behave even worse. It's not like that. It's when.

Then the Steelers will really wish they hadn't traded Johnson.

Pickens has a wide arc. The Steelers only have themselves to blame. Pickens could personally insult Tomlin on his eye-black tape. Even Tomlin would just pretend he didn't see it.