Former Steelers WR George Pickens Ditches Youth Camp In Pittsburgh After Promising To Attend

The Pittsburgh Steelers' 2025 offseason has been quite the rollercoaster. It started with a blockbuster trade to land DK Metcalf, and then speculation surrounding Aaron Rodgers took off for months. Following the 2025 NFL Draft, the organization then made the surprising decision to deal George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. There have been a lot of mixed emotions since the team's former second-round pick was traded. Pickens has the talent to be one of the best pass-catchers in the NFL, but unfortunately, he had one too many on (and off) the field episodes for the franchise to handle, leading to his departure.

While the Cowboys and Steelers won't play each other during the 2025 season (unless the two meet in the Super Bowl), fans in the Steel City will keep a close eye on how the wide receiver performs and eventually decide if it was a mistake to trade him. Regardless, the Steel City and Pickens pretty much parted ways, except for a sold-out youth camp that the pass-catcher was supposed to hold at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh.

After committing to an event like that, a countless number of children were probably looking forward to seeing Pickens in person and meeting him. Unfortunately, the fourth-year player has officially bailed on the event. This will likely upset many that signed up, but it appears as if a current Steelers player will step up in Pickens' absence.

This is an awesome gesture by Pat Freiermuth, who has been known to be active in the community. It's a bit unfortunate that Pickens had one final event to attend in the Steel City, and during a dry point in the offseason to boot, but has made the decision to bail on plenty of fans out there. If nothing serious is going on for him currently, it's pretty disappointing that Pickens is passing on hosting the camp that he organized.

Freiermuth will be a big-time leader in the Steelers' offense along with Rodgers and Metcalf. The group is relatively young, but has a nice mix of experience. The locker room will be expected to have much more camaraderie than it has had in years past. As of now, no one is being looked at as a cancer, and Rodgers has said all of the right things to get the fan based pumped about his presence.

After trading Pickens, Pittsburgh definitely got worse in the receivers' room, but addition by subtraction may be the best way to look at the situation moving forward. A future Hall of Fame quarterback will be under center, and the unit has a respectable collective and play-caller. Pickens, with this one final act of negativity towards the Steel City, would likely have continued to frustrate his teammates and the fans alike. Ditching his own youth camp isn't an overall great look.

Steelers Are Lucky To Have Great Tight End On And Off The Field

Pittsburgh has had a pretty strong track record at the tight end position in the 21st century. Freiermuth has yet to truly breakout, but could absolutely do so in 2025. Rodgers will be able to find him all over the field, but where the former second-round pick could really stand out is in a leadership role. He had no obligation to take over this youth camp, but didn't want to let the fan base down. If his production bumps up in his fifth professional season, he will become even more of a fan favorite.

Do you think Pickens was wrong to decide that he wasn't going to show up to his own sold-out youth camp in the Steel City? Let us know in the comments below!

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