Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has come under some heavy criticism this week after fans called him out for his lack of effort during Pittsburgh’s 30-13 loss to the Colts last Saturday.
Not only did Pickens show any urgency to tackle Colts DB Julian Blackmon after he intercepted a pass off Mitch Trubisky in the fourth quarter but he also didn’t block for his teammate, RB Jaylen Warren, on what could’ve been a touchdown.
On Tuesday, Pickens tried to explain his lack of effort and let’s just say it was as pathetic as his effort.
“I was trying to prevent a Tank Dell situation,” Pickens said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.
Dell, the rookie WR for the Houston Texans, fractured his fibular earlier this season after getting folded awkwardly while blocking on a run play at the goal line.
“I didn’t want to get injured,” Pickens said. “When you stay in and block somebody, you can get run on very easily.”
Pickens hasn’t exactly had that breakout season that many expected. He’s caught just 52 passes for 814 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games played this season.
The Steelers season has spiraled and there are a lot of questions about the future of this organization.