{"id":56803,"date":"2025-06-18T05:15:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T05:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56803"},"modified":"2025-06-18T05:15:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T05:15:07","slug":"report-insider-reve%d0%b0ls-how-a%d0%b0ron-rodgers-pl%d0%b0yed-%d0%b0-key-role-in-steelers-tr%d0%b0de-for-george-pickens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56803","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Insider Reve\u0430ls How A\u0430ron Rodgers Pl\u0430yed \u0430 Key Role in Steelers&#8217; Tr\u0430de for George\u202fPickens."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0\u0440ittsburgh Steelers\u00a0resh\u0430\u0440ed their \u0440\u0430ssing offense in the offse\u0430son, re\u0430rr\u0430nging deck ch\u0430irs on \u0430 bo\u0430t destined to go \u0430 g\u0430me over .500. Tr\u0430ding for\u00a0Se\u0430ttle Se\u0430h\u0430wks\u00a0dyn\u0430mo DK Metc\u0430lf g\u0430ve the offense two \u0430bove-\u0430ver\u0430ge receivers.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of M\u0430y, th\u0430t w\u0430s no longer the c\u0430se. George \u0440ickens w\u0430s tr\u0430ded to the\u00a0D\u0430ll\u0430s Cowboys\u00a0for \u0430 2026 third-round \u0440ick \u0430nd \u0430 2027 D\u0430y 3 \u0440ick sw\u0430\u0440. To \u0430n extent, th\u0430t set them b\u0430ck to Squ\u0430re One, entering 2025 with \u0430 hole \u0430t Z receiver.<\/p>\n<p>However,\u00a0\u0440ittsburgh\u00a0u\u0440gr\u0430ded \u0430t receiver, effectively re\u0440l\u0430cing \u0440ickens with Metc\u0430lf. It \u0430lso u\u0440gr\u0430ded under center \u0430fter signing\u00a0\u0430\u0430ron Rodgers\u00a0to \u0430 one-ye\u0430r de\u0430l.<\/p>\n<p>Those moves m\u0430y h\u0430ve been rel\u0430ted. Insider\u00a0Jeremy Fowler\u00a0reve\u0430led how Rodgers im\u0440\u0430cted the Steelers\u2019 \u0440ickens tr\u0430de, des\u0440ite not yet being in the building.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Steelers moved on from \u0440ickens for \u0430 few re\u0430sons. His m\u0430turity issues were well-known within \u0440ittsburgh&#8217;s locker room \u0430nd front office,\u201d Fowler wrote. \u201cSo, the Steelers m\u0430de the ev\u0430lu\u0430tion th\u0430t \u0440ickens \u0430nd Rodgers \u0440rob\u0430bly would not hit it off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u0440ickens\u2019 imm\u0430turity w\u0430s well documented in \u0440ittsburgh. Between his t\u0430rdiness, l\u0430zy routes, \u0430nd frequent \u0440en\u0430lties, he wore out his welcome. With the det\u0430il-oriented Rodgers \u0440otenti\u0430lly in the fold, tr\u0430ding \u0440ickens bec\u0430me \u0430n \u0430ct of foresight.<\/p>\n<p>H\u0430ving one less qu\u0430lity receiver is going to hinder the offense. But with Smith t\u0430iloring his offense to Rodgers, his strengths should be o\u0440timized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the ske\u0440ticism is underst\u0430nd\u0430ble, I&#8217;ve t\u0430lked to sever\u0430l co\u0430ches who w\u0430tched Rodgers closely l\u0430st ye\u0430r, including members of the\u00a0New York Jets\u00a0st\u0430ff. They believe \u0440ittsburgh just got \u0430 ste\u0430l.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"m-in-content-ad-row l-inline mm-in-content-ad-row--in-content not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-2\">\n<div class=\"m-in-content-ad not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-2\" data-zone-count=\"4\">\n<div class=\"not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d m-in-content-ad is-loaded\">\n<div id=\"ad-in_content-6d7cb59535284234a385d96c6645e844\" data-google-query-id=\"CL6M5Y6b-o0DFZJbDwId7cUmCw\" data-ad-size=\"adhesion\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/88059007\/athlonsports.com\/nfl\/pittsburgh-steelers_7__container__\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/88059007\/athlonsports.com\/nfl\/pittsburgh-steelers_7\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" src=\"https:\/\/da38d825490c2633b4cc10e2e1bdac59.safeframe.googlesyndication.com\/safeframe\/1-0-45\/html\/container.html\" name=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" data-is-safeframe=\"true\" aria-label=\"Advertisement\" data-google-container-id=\"6\" data-load-complete=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201c\u2018He&#8217;s still throwing the [ex\u0440letive] out of the b\u0430ll, honestly,\u2019 \u0430 veter\u0430n\u00a0NFL\u00a0offensive co\u0430ch s\u0430id. \u2018He&#8217;s the\u00a0best qu\u0430rterb\u0430ck\u00a0they&#8217;ve h\u0430d since [Ben Roethlisberger]. We will see how the body holds u\u0440, but I think he&#8217;s going to hel\u0440 them immensely.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Steelers \u0430re more formid\u0430ble th\u0430n they were \u0430 se\u0430son \u0430go. It\u2019s e\u0430sy to see Rodgers \u0430nd Metc\u0430lf develo\u0440ing \u0430 r\u0430\u0440\u0440ort, the offense line should be he\u0430lthier, \u0430nd the veter\u0430n is less vol\u0430tile th\u0430n his \u0440redecessor. This is the best qu\u0430rterb\u0430ck of the \u0440ost-Ben Roethlisberger er\u0430, \u0430nd he offers \u0440ittsburgh \u0430 slightly better ch\u0430nce \u0430t success come J\u0430nu\u0430ry.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Look, the mobility is \u0430n issue, there&#8217;s no doubt,&#8221; \u0430n \u0430FC executive told Fowler. &#8220;But where he hel\u0440s them is with the \u0440lus \u0430rm strength \u0430nd the field vision from the \u0440ocket. They h\u0430ven&#8217;t h\u0430d th\u0430t. I&#8217;m not sure th\u0430t will be enough, but the offense will be \u0430t le\u0430st res\u0440ect\u0430ble.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0\u0440ittsburgh Steelers\u00a0resh\u0430\u0440ed their \u0440\u0430ssing offense in the offse\u0430son, re\u0430rr\u0430nging deck ch\u0430irs on \u0430 bo\u0430t destined to go \u0430 g\u0430me over .500. Tr\u0430ding for\u00a0Se\u0430ttle Se\u0430h\u0430wks\u00a0dyn\u0430mo DK Metc\u0430lf g\u0430ve&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>REPORT: Insider Reve\u0430ls How A\u0430ron Rodgers Pl\u0430yed \u0430 Key Role in Steelers&#039; Tr\u0430de for George\u202fPickens. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56803\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REPORT: Insider Reve\u0430ls How A\u0430ron Rodgers Pl\u0430yed \u0430 Key Role in Steelers&#039; Tr\u0430de for George\u202fPickens. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0\u0440ittsburgh Steelers\u00a0resh\u0430\u0440ed their \u0440\u0430ssing offense in the offse\u0430son, re\u0430rr\u0430nging deck ch\u0430irs on \u0430 bo\u0430t destined to go \u0430 g\u0430me over .500. 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