Mike Tomlin Answers For WR George Pickens' Bad Play, RB Jaylen Warren Questions Teammate's Effort

Mike Tomlin is back to answering for his frustrated wideouts.

This time, Tomlin's addressing George Pickens after the second-year wideout exhibited shockingly low effort on several plays in Week 15 (i.e., giving up).

Pickens views himself as a star on a bad Steelers team, 7-7, without realizing he's contributing to the problem. Regardless, the NFL media and fans pounced on Pickens for his humiliating effort against the Colts on Saturday.

Tomlin decided he needed to extinguish the drama around Pickens, speaking to the media on Wednesday. He complimented Pickens while openly calling for him to start doing his job as a Steelers wideout.

"George is a talented guy but he's growing and growing in a lot of ways in regards to football and life," Tomlin shared. "We don't run away from that. We run to that organizationally when we draft guys. We're committed to being a component of their growth and development in all areas."

Tomlin added, "When you're winning and doing your jobs, a lot of the attention is on things such as that. When you're not doing your job and losing, you better keep your damn mouth shut and understand that that tracks a certain type of attention, as well. And usually that's vulture-like attention."

Steelers running back Jaylen Warren fell short of a rushing touchdown after Pickens failed to block for Warren on the play. When asked about the play, Pickens told reporters he wanted to avoid a fibula injury, similar to Texans WR Tank Dell. The excuse didn't land.

Even Warren acknowledged Pickens' malaise this week.

“Some people play the game differently,” Warren said, relayed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “If I was in that position I would have blocked for him. But we play differently, so ...”

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 18: George Pickens #14 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates after making a catch against the Carolina Panthers during the second quarter of the game at Bank of America Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)